


Draw your Hello

by MaraSenpai1997



Series: Draw your Hello [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Family, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Meet the Family, Siblings, Slow Burn, Song Lyrics, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-09-28 13:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10102487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaraSenpai1997/pseuds/MaraSenpai1997
Summary: At the end of the night, Guang Hong knew a few things about his soulmate. For starters, it was a male. Guang Hong’s little gay heart was entirely grateful for that. He lived in America, was seventeen and spoke both Spanish and English, both nearly fluently.The soulmate AU nobody asked for where you can exchange words by writing on your skin.





	1. In your eyes, I see my future in an instant

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a short, fluffy one-shot. Now it will be a small multi-chapter fic. Welp, time to procrastinate even more. I'm a terrible human being >o<
> 
> I feel like the writing is entirely different from what I usually write, but I decided to try something new. I think Leo is a bit out of character, but oh well, that happens when you read too much fanfiction of different characters. Everything starts to blend together. (I hope the POV switch aren't too confusing, I'm not exactly fond of them but it seemed fitting for this.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a short, fluffy one-shot. Now it will be a small multi-chapter fic. Welp, time to procrastinate even more. I'm a terrible human being >o<
> 
> I feel like the writing is entirely different from what I usually write, but I decided to try something new. I think Leo is a bit out of character, but oh well, that happens when you read too much fanfiction of different characters. Everything starts to blend together. (I hope the POV switch aren't too confusing, I'm not exactly fond of them but it seemed fitting for this.)

It was already late into the evening when Guang Hong finally found the courage he had been looking for. It was stupid- he shouldn’t be doing this. He had school the next day for heaven’s sake! Plus, his soulmate probably was asleep, as he should be. Yet, those thoughts didn’t stop him.

With a shaking hand, Guang Hong wrote ‘hello’ on a small, un-inked patch of his pale skin. The rest was already was swallowed by a large drawing of random flowers that grew in his parents’ garden. This was downright silly. He was sixteen! He should have started to write to his soulmates years ago! They surely wouldn’t mind his broken English, probably finding it endearing. Maybe they even would help him with his English!

The black ink stood stark against his skin. He never had expected to be nervous about something so silly. They didn’t even know each other! All the interaction they had was a two-line exchange. His soulmate commenting on how they liked Guang Hong’s drawings and Guang Hong- well, Guang Hong’s mom, answering with a ‘thank you’ and mentioning that Guang Hong didn’t speak English.

Guang Hong flinched as his right arm started to tingle. He had once again forgotten that his soulmate was left-handed. It was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because they had the space of two arms to drawn on. A curse because neither of them could write a proper response underneath the previous message. Guang Hong always had to match up the small, cryptic messages his soulmate left behind with whatever thing he had drawn.

‘Hello?’ was his soulmates their response. The handwriting was slightly neater than it had been six years ago, yet it was still familiar.

High on nerves, Guang Hong tightened his grip on his pencil and wrote the response.

‘It’s me- the one who always draws. My English is still bad, but I think we could try? If you want to, of course!’

Biting his bottom lip out of habit, Guang Hong waited for his soulmate to response. What if they didn’t want to talk with Guang Hong? There was always a thing like stranger danger. Also, Guang Hong probably was a boring person. On the other hand, his soulmate could hate him. Maybe he was too feminine or maybe they were also into guys, just like him, and though Guang Hong was a girl.

‘That’s so cool!’ was the first response, written in a slightly more messy handwriting than the greeting. ‘I would love to talk with you,’ was added, an awkwardly drawn smiley finishing the sentence.

Guang Hong felt his face radiating heat, a broad smile almost hurting his face. ‘Really!?! That’s awesome!’ remembering his classes about privacy, Guang Hong added another word to his response. ‘Boundaries?’

It didn’t take his soulmate long to response. ‘No names yet- but my mum is fine with things like gender and age.’

‘Same!’

At the end of the night, Guang Hong knew a few things about his soulmate. For starters, it was a male. Guang Hong’s little gay heart was entirely grateful for that. He lived in America, was seventeen and spoke both Spanish and English, both nearly fluently.

  
~*~

Leo smiled at his arm with a fond smile, completely ignoring his friends who were chatting happily. They talked. He and his soulmate finally had talked. He hadn’t expected to happen at all, as his soulmate clearly had stated he didn’t speak English six years ago. Nevertheless, a lot could change in six years, he guessed.

His soulmate, which was a boy apparently and seemed to be a very sweet guy. He was just a year younger than Leo and lived in China. He had said his English was very terrible, though all Leo could do was admire him for actually master a decent level of English without a family being able to support him. His entire family bilingual, so he always had been lucky with learning two languages. His soulmates family, on the other hand, only spoke Mandarin.

“Hey Leo, what are you looking at?” one of his friends had noticed his absence and leant into his personal space, checking out Leo’s arm.

“She spoke!” his friend exclaimed, a series of whoops followed. “That’s so cool. What’s she like?”

Scratching the nape of his neck, Leo flashes his friends an insecure smile. “It’s a boy,” he answered nervously, hoping that his friends wouldn’t mind.

“That’s... unexpected,” the same friend muttered, avoiding all eye contact.

~*~

He didn’t regret this. At the ripe age of nineteen, Guang Hong had packed his bags and left for America. He was going to study art despite his parents’ protest. They hadn’t been happy, unsurprisingly, but eventually accepted his decision. Even as a wee child, he had loved to drawn and this hadn’t changed. The only thing that had changed was that he had gotten better at it, even if still needed a lot of work.

His soulmate, on the other hand, was ecstatic when Guang Hong announced that he was moving to America to study art. It turned out that Guang Hong was moving to the same state as his soulmate lived. A meet-up in the distance future seemed more likely than ever, something he only could dream off three years ago.

When he landed in America, his new roommate had picked him up. Like him, his roommate was a foreign student, Seung-gil, who was two years ahead of him. The man was stoic, a bit blunt but he didn’t seem to mind Guang Hong too much. In addition, it was a free ride, much better than getting a taxi.

~*~

“I would pack more than just that.”

Guang Hong almost dropped his phone in fright. He still had to get used to Seung-gil, who was like a cat. He snuck around their shared dorm room like a cat, quiet and sneaky. Then, out of nowhere, he made some remark that sends Guang Hong jumping in fright.

With a confused expression, Guang Hong started at his packed bag. It was just introduction day. They would meet their homeroom teacher and class and do some stupid activities the teacher though was fun.

“Why would I need more?” Guang Hong asked in confusion. He had everything. A compact first-aid kit, food and sweets to share, a notebook and a few pencils, his swim trunks and a towel.

Seung-gil rolled his eyes as if the answer was evident. “Introduction takes ages, take at least some drawing material with you.”

Though still doubting that it could take that long, Guang Hong took his roommate’s advice and added his sketchbook and pencil case to his bag.

~*~

Seung-gil had been right. The teacher had been rambling for over an hour, and it seemed she was far from finished. Plenty of the first years already had given into the temptation of doing something else, something more fun. Plenty of young faces were staring down at their crotches, scrolling mindlessly through Facebook or Instagram.

Deciding that smiling at his crotch was a bit too obvious, Guang Hong unzipped his pencil case and grabbed a few of his favourite pens. Uncapping his favourite shade of blue, Guang Hong started to doodle on his left arm. By the time his skin started to itch, signalling that his soulmate was also writing on his skin, he had drawn a few roses. Big, baby-blue coloured roses. The shading was nice for once.

‘Bored?’

Smiling at the message, Guang Hong picked up his red coloured pencil and started to write an answer on the inside of his arm. ‘Yes. Introduction day. Teacher has been speaking for over an hour.’

‘I feel you,’ his soulmate replied, a sad smiley face was added. ‘Was in your shoes previous year. Horrible. They never stop talking.’

A chuckle rolled past his lips. Embarrassed, Guang Hong clamped his mouth shut, hoping that nobody noticed. But both his neighbours were way too busy doing their own thing to pay attention to him.

Being the impatient person he was, his soulmate was already scribbling another message on his arm, not waiting for Guang Hong to even response.

‘Your art is beautiful, as always. I feel so blessed.’

The heart-shaped scribblings lit Guang Hong’s face on fire. His art wasn’t even that good, it was decent and definitely somewhat decent, but beautiful is rather farfetched.

‘It’s not that beautiful. It’s just a doodle,’ Guang Hong answered, carefully writing ‘that’ in cursive. He was rather proud of his handwriting, especially his cursive handwriting, though it was hard to pull off.

His soulmate didn’t reply immediately, so Guang Hong decided to resume his drawing. Nearly every patch of skin was covered with ink by the time his soulmate responded. Well, that was what he thought at first.

A different handwriting appeared on his arm. It was sloppy, and the letters were big. By the looks of it, it was written in a rush. ‘Not that beautiful my ass,’ it read. A flush coloured Guang Hong’s neck red as he hurriedly overpainted the word ‘ass’. He and his soulmate had a no cursing policy, though he doubted that this was his soulmate writing. ‘I would trade my soul for this,’ the same person added. ‘Or soulmate. Want to switch soulmates?’

This time, one of his neighbours eyes him with surprise as he laughed. He had completely forgotten that others also could write on his soulmate’s skin. But it seemed that his soulmate had great friends- at least better than the previous ones he had. A few months after they had started to talk, his soulmate had admitted that his friends weren’t exactly happy with his soulmate being a guy, be he didn’t mind. Embarrassingly, Guang Hong had to admit he didn’t have friends.

~*~

Leo stared in wonder at his left arm. No matter what his soulmate drew, it never ceased to amaze him. This time it was blue roses. Roses that looked almost real. Once again, he was reminded why his soulmate had decided to study art.

“What are you staring at?” one of his friends asked curiously, plopping down next to him on the couch.

In previous years, Leo made sure to cover it, he didn’t want a repeat of high school. But Phichit wasn’t like his high school friends. Phichit had been supportive from day one, saying he had been two-hundred percent sure his soulmate was a guy too from the beginning. Later on it turned out to be, unsurprisingly.

“My soulmate is drawing again,” Leo admits, showing Phichit the almost finished sleeve of blue roses and vines.

Phichit had been curious about his soulmate’s drawings, but Phichit had never pushed him to show him. Therefore, the gasp of pure and utter awe shouldn’t come as a surprise, as this would be Phichit’s first time seeing Leo’s soulmate’s drawing-abilities.

“Holy shit,” Phichit cussed- which wasn’t overly common for the photography student. “It’s stunning,” a brief pause followed. “You’ve been hiding this the whole time?”

Embarrassed and slightly ashamed, Leo nodded. “Yes, I just-” he didn’t want a repeat from high school.

He knew that Phichit understood. His friend gave him a knowing look which was matched with a caring smile. “You’re one lucky guy- I wished Seung-gil would draw things like this for me.”

Leo tried to look pitied. Tried. After a brief moment of Phichit pouting and Leo trying to pity his friend, Leo cracked. Loud laughing startled Phichit, but he couldn’t care less. “Well... you now know more about anatomy than you did before.”

This was an understatement. Seung-gil, studying medicine, often used his own body as a learning tool. So, he made all kind of notes on his body, like where which bone was located or what kind of muscles there were. This also resulted into one of the most memorable moments in Leo’s life. Seung-gil had tried to flirt with Phichit after they knew each other for a while. The poor Korean had tried.

Apparently, ‘You have a beautiful Gluteus Maximus’ was the medical way of saying ‘You’ve a nice ass’. Alternatively, it was Seung-gil’s way of flirting. First, he thought it was just a medical student thing, but Leo had talked with other medical students. Each of them seemed perfectly capable of flirting like a normal human being. However, Seung-gil wasn’t exactly normal, not that Phichit was either.

By the time Leo dared to look his friend in the eyes again, he had regretted his teasing. Phichit had that look, which meant nothing good could happen.

“Give me your right arm,” Phichit requested innocently. Leo didn’t believe in the man’s innocence.

He threw Phichit a suspicious glance. “Why?”

There it was. Phichit’s eyes flashed dangerously, mischief was written on his mind. “Just do it or will spill are your darkest secrets.”

“What dark secrets?” Leo quirked an eyebrow in mild curiousness. However, his neck was already sweating. Phichit was... awfully well known for his blackmail capabilities.

“Your ten-part plan on how to woo your soulmate once you meet? Or on how you hope that your soulmate is shorter than you. Or...” a devilish grin crept on Phichit’s face. “Or that you once wack-”

His face grew warm and sweaty. He knew what Phichit was going to say and honestly, he felt betrayed. “Fine,” he grunted, dropping his right arm in his friend’s lap. “Knock yourself out.”

Phichit hummed triumphantly and wreaked havoc on his right arm. All Leo could hope and pray for was that his soulmate realised it wasn’t him and that Phichit didn’t say anything embarrassing.

A cooing sound made Leo look at his right arm. A thick, black line crossed out one of the words Phichit had written. “He’s against bad words,” Phichit muttered in amazement. “How old is he, sixteen?” a brief pause followed. “Your soulmate is a minor!” he yelled, sounding scandalized.

Leo grumbled and flicked Phichit’s forehead. “He’s nineteen your asshole. We just decided on a no-cursing policy.”

“That’s adorably sweet,” Phichit said thoughtfully. For a brief moment, Leo hoped that his friend satisfied.

Unsurprisingly, Phichit wasn’t satisfied. A cheeky grin returned to the man’s face. “He does live in the same state as we live in, right?”

Gritting his teeth, Leo nodded. He regretted telling Phichit things about his soulmate. Now he probably was going suggest that Leo had to meet his soulmate.

“Then why haven’t you met him yet?” Phichit almost exclaimed, disbelief strong on his face. “This is your opportunity- he no longer lives on the other side of the world. What if you guys actually hit it off.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “We’re not all as social capable as you. I probably would make a fool of myself,” this was very likely checking Leo’s track history. He had met Phichit by spilling coffee over him, and it wasn’t like his meeting with Yuuri went much smoother.

Talking about Yuuri. Leo frowned, realising that he hadn’t seen Phichit’s roommate yet. “Where’s Yuuri?”

Phichit shrugged, looking far from concerned. “Asleep, probably. He had a long shift last night.”

“Well, I was supposed to be asleep,” a sleepy voice grumbled close-by, causing both Phichit and Leo to topple off the couch.

Lying flat on the dirty floor, Leo stared up and let his eyes wander to Yuuri. Phichit’s roommate’s hair was dishevelled, dark circles made the man look tired, which he probably was.

“But someone was loud,” thankfully, the accusing glare was aimed to Phichit, who probably was looking very guilty right now. “Nice seeing you again Leo,” Yuuri added, offering the American a polite smile.

“Same,” Leo chimed back.

He didn’t mind Yuuri. He was politer and more considerate then Phichit, though he also a bit of a bore and he was very study-orientated, which made it difficult to persuade him into doing anything fun. But as he came in a two-in-one package deal with Phichit, Leo had very little choice to hang around with him. Not that he minded. It could’ve been a lot worse. For example, Seung-gil’s previous roommate JJ had been a nuisance.

Phichit made a protesting noise and flailed his limbs around, nearly hitting Leo as the raven-haired student tried to get up. “That’s unfair. Why do I get scolded and Leo not?”

Yuuri shrugged. “He didn’t wake me. Why were you yelling anyway?”

This wasn’t good. Now Phichit would try to rope him into it, trying to push some on the blame on him. Why were he and Phichit friends again? “It was Leo’s fault,” Phichit muttered, pointing accusing at Leo. “His soulmate moved to America, but Leo refuses to see him.”

Leo pitied Yuuri. The roommate looked done with Phichit’s shit. “So? We all have our own pace of getting to know our soulmate,” he lectured Phichit. His gaze did soften as he spoke again, this time the words directed to Leo. “But I would take this opportunity. China isn’t nothing, and you seem to like him a lot.”

A groan rolled past Leo’s parted lips. “That’s precisely the issue,” he said dramatically, throwing his hands aimlessly in the air. “I don’t want to disappoint him. What if he stops talking to me?”

Neither Phichit nor Yuuri had an answer for that. Things as a soulmate were never easy. Maybe fate had decided that you belonged together, but fate couldn’t direct everything. It wasn’t unheard off that soulmates just couldn’t get along, or they just turned out to be platonic soulmates, good friends.

“I doubt he would,” Phichit said slowly, taking the matter unusually serious. “I mean, he always draws on his arm. Despite being a student, I doubt he can’t afford a sketchbook, so he probably wants to share his drawings with you,” Phichit paused briefly, and Leo knew that the smirk had returned. “Plus those drawings. I mean, Yuuri’s soulmate doodles occasionally, but it can’t compare to your soulmate his drawings, they’re breath-taking.”

Leo knew that Phichit had gone off topic, probably both to distract Yuuri from scolding him.

It seemed Phichit plan had worked as Yuuri blinked in confusion, trying to tie Phichit’s story together. “Drawings?”

Phichit nodded furiously. “Yes, Leo showed me his arm today, the drawings are beautiful. Right, Leo?”

Groaning, Leo pulled himself into a sitting position. His sleeves had fallen back into place during his not so graceful fall down to earth, or the floor in this case. He trusted Yuuri, more than he actually trusted Phichit, so it shouldn’t be much of an issue showing the culinary student the drawing.

A small gasp flew past Yuuri’s parted lips. It seemed his soulmate had done some touch-ups, adding glitter off all things to it. It must be a pain to wash off, though, in Leo’s mind, it was all worth it.

“I thought Phichit was exaggerating,” Yuuri admitted, plopping down on the couch Leo and Phichit previously had sat on. “But it is breath-taking.”

Even as the compliment wasn’t directed at him, Leo felt himself grow flustered. He knew the drawings were pretty, but maybe he just couldn’t appreciate them to the fullest. Blame that on seeing them on a daily base.

“I’ll let him known,” Leo murmured. After a quick search, he had found the pen Phichit had dropped.

Checking his left arm, Leo saw that his soulmate had responded to Phichit’s comment. ‘You aren’t my soulmate, are you?’ was written in his soulmates nice handwriting, followed up by a silly looking smiley. His soulmate was going to be the death of him.

‘That wasn’t me, it was a friend,’ Leo jotted down on his right arm, unbothered by the fact that the two roommates were reading what he wrote.

‘But don’t worry, he does really like it,’ a tender smile crossed his lips. ‘He and his roommate have decided that ‘breath-taking’ is the perfect description of your art.’

He already could image his soulmate growing flustered. His soulmate never had been awfully comfortable with taking compliments, often responding with embarassing-looking faces and a slightly messier handwriting.

‘Are you friends blind?’

Phichit started to laugh loudly, burying his face in his hands. Yuuri was staring at Leo’s left arm in surprise.

“He has a weird sense of humour,” Leo muttered in his soulmate defence. However, a low self-esteem seemed to be a better description.

“He seems lovely,” Yuuri cooed, sounding an awful lot like his mother. “You should really meet him- it might be a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

For a brief moment, Leo considered listening to Yuuri’s advice and request a meeting with his soulmate. However, he chickened out even before he had started. This was all right, them talking like this. He still had plenty of times left. His soulmate was just a freshman, there were still four more years of college before he would even consider returning to China. If he, of course, was going to stay for the remaining four years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The goal had been to write short snippets of their growing romance... welp that's thrown out of the window. Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Also, constructive criticism is appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
> **Edit: Chapter Title is from Savage Garden - I knew that I loved you**


	2. I can't help falling in love with you

America had been... interesting. He quickly had fallen into a routine, which came to no surprise, really. Two months in and you just couldn’t afford to lose focus. College wasn’t necessarily challenging, but it was a lot. Between early morning and late evening, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, doing his laundry and homework, there wasn’t much time to ponder and wonder. Any free time Guang Hong had, he would spend sleeping, a recommendation many of his fellow students had given him.

 

Due to his busy schedule, he didn’t see his roommate often. Being a medical student, Seung-gil spends a lot of his time in the library, studying his ass off. So it was a surprise to see Seung-gil seated at the small dinner table, a thick book lying flat on the table.

 

“Not going out tonight?” Guang Hong questioned in mild surprise, dropping the grocery bags on the dining table, narrowly missing Seung-gil’s book.

 

“No. Too busy,” Seung-gil mumbled, which was more then Guang Hong expected. Seung-gil wasn’t  much of a talker.

 

Dropping the conversation, Guang Hong started to store the food in their small fridge. Unlike most students, both Seung-gil and he had agreed that they didn’t want to live on solely fast-food. So they _actually_ made an effort and cooked, even if it was just some rice or pasta. Though, admittedly, Seung-gil dislike for vegetables didn’t help.

 

Gathering the food he needed for a somewhat proper meal, Guang Hong looked over his shoulder, checking if Seung-gil was still sitting there. He could’ve been hallucinating after all. He was still there, brows furrowed in concentration as he was reading.

 

“I’m planning on making some pasta, interested?” Guang Hong asked casually, curious to see how Seung-gil would react.

 

Dark eyes flashed with interest, eyebrows slightly quirked up and his focus briefly left the pages of the books. “Sounds great,” the man muttered before returning to his book.

 

With practised ease, Guang Hong started to bustle around the kitchen. Pasta was easy to make- especially when it came to someone as Seung-gil. Before he even could touch the vegetables, a whining noise clawed its way out of Seung-gil’s throat.

 

“No vegetables please,” his roommate pleaded. Guang Hong knew if he looked at the Korean man right know, a pair of begging eyes would greet him. For whatever reason, Seung-gil _really_ didn’t like vegetables.

 

Pitying his roommate's soulmate, cooking a proper meal for Seung-gil was a pain, Guang Hong gave Seung-gil a thumbs-up and continued on cooking, leaving the vegetables untouched.

 

Finishing up cooking, Guang Hong nudged Seung-gil’s book away and decked-out the table. Seung-gil was no help at all, but Guang Hong didn’t mind it too much. It was his turn to cook anyway and usually, he spend the Tuesday eating dinner alone as Seung-gil typically would spend the evening with his boyfriend.

 

Plopping down the seat, Guang Hong started to dig in, barely tasting anything of the food. It was actually rather convenient that Seung-gil didn’t go out tonight. Guang Hong still needed someone to aid him with his art project, and he doubted that his roommate would ask many questions.

 

“Hey, Seung-gil?” the Korean hummed, absentmindedly stuffing pasta in his mouth while reading. “Are you free this evening?”

 

“Why? You aren’t my soulmate,” Seung-gil stated blandly.

 

A flush crept up on his neck, painting his skin red. “I know that,” Guang Hong stuttered, feeling like his face was set on fire. He was _not_ asking Seung-gil out. “But I need some help with an art project.”

 

“I’ve to finish this book tonight.”

 

Guang Hong was pretty sure that was Seung-gil’s requirement. If he could read his book, he was down for whatever Guang Hong would throw at him.

 

“That shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” Guang Hong assured, feeling ecstatic. He had wanting to do this for ages! “Though, I must ask, are you allergic to anything?”

 

Seung-gil blinked at him, brows furrowed in mild concern. “Not as far as I’m aware of,” the Korean mumbled, a faint hint of regret in his voice.

 

Ecstatic, Guang Hong clamped his hands together. “Great, we’ll start after dinner.”

 

~*~

 

Dressed against the harsh October cold, Leo, Phichit and Yuuri were huddled together in the narrow hallway of Seung-gil’s dorm-room-complex. Phichit had insisted that they should drop by, dropping of the leftovers of Yuuri’s cooking. It probably was just an excuse of Phichit to see his boyfriend, not that Leo could blame him, he would do the same.

 

Tucking his scarf into his jacket, Leo knocked on the door with his gloved hand. Phichit’s hands were occupied by carrying the leftovers and Yuuri was on his phone, sending out a few urgent text messages to classmates. At least, that’s what Yuuri had said, maybe he was just texting with some cute guy or girl- sometimes Yuuri was very heard to read.

 

After waiting for a minute-or-so, Leo pulled off his glove and knocked again. The knocking was louder than expected, causing the three friend to jump in fright. Immediately, Yuuri started to scold him, mentioning that Seung-gil had a _roommate_ , who probably was scared senselessly by his antics.

 

Leo honestly had forgotten about Seung-gil’s roommate. The Korean didn’t talk about him a lot, only mentioning that it was a male, a first year and a decent roommate. Which, knowing Seung-gil longer than a day, meant that Seung-gil was happy with his roommate. At least loads better than his previous roommate.

 

The door was carefully opened, and a curious face looked into the hallway. Reddish brown hair, soft brown eyes, pale skin with freckles splattered around his nose. A paintbrush was clenched between his teeth, the blue-coloured paint still fresh by the looks of it. He wore a paint-stained shirt, and his arms weren’t much better off. It looked as if he just had returned from a long and intense paintball game.

 

A blush crawled up his neck as he made eye contact with the roommate. He was cute, _very_ cute. From the cute freckles to the pinned-back hair, which, now Leo looked closer, was pinned back with neon-coloured clips. Leo was prepared for a lot in life, but not a cute guy that came out of the blue. An _illegally_ cute guy.

 

Tucking the paintbrush behind his left ear, the brunet licked his dry lips, eyeing Leo with curiosity. Leo wasn’t sure whenever he had yet noticed the others, but right now he didn’t really care.

 

“How can I help you?” he questioned, his accent definitely not American. Or British. Or any accent Leo ever had heard before. It was kind of cute, his pronunciation a tad odd but endearing.

 

Offering the brunet a kind smile, Leo finally answered his question. “We’re here for Seung-gil, we’re his friends, or at least I like to think that we’re.”

 

Phichit huffed in annoyance, mumbling under his breath that he _wasn’t_ just a _friend_ of Seung-gil’s. But as he was familiar with Phichit, these actions didn’t even remotely surprise Leo, if they surprised him at all.

 

“Oh, right,” the brunet mumbled, lips quirking up in a smile “He’s in here, but he’s a bit... occupied,” a subtle blush painted the brunet’s neck red.

 

Yuuri, being the sweet angle he is, pushed himself next to Leo, eyes set with kindness. “If it’s inconvenient, we can leave?” he suggested, smiling kindly at the roommate.

 

Growing even more flustered in the face, the roommate shook his head. The paintbrush, who had been tucked behind the brunet’s ear, tumbled down. Being the oldest of five siblings, Leo was used from things fallen off cabinets and tables. With cat-like reflexes, he snatched the brush out of the air, smudging a bit of blue paint on his fingers. Well, at least better than the floor.

 

“I’m sorry!” the brunet squeaked. The roommate’s brown eyes sought out Leo’s darker ones, trying to look for annoyance.

 

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Leo assured, laughing somewhat loudly. He carefully handed the paintbrush back to the roommate. “I’ve had worse- younger siblings.”

 

The roommate basically beamed, smiling brightly at Leo. “Ah, okay!” the student chimed, eyes shimmering with life. “You can wash in the bathroom if you want- ah, you two are also welcome.”

 

The brunet stepped out of the way, giving them the opportunity to enter the room. Carefully not to touch anything with his paint-smudged hands, Leo entered the familiar dorm room. Nothing had much changed, a few items here and there weren’t there before. The flowers, in particular, seemed to be a new addition. So Seung-gil’s roommate liked flowers- as Leo doubted that Seung-gil was the owner of a few pots of well-cared for flowers while he couldn’t even take care of himself.

 

Ignoring the itch to throw off his coat, it was hot inside, Leo marched over the kitchen, not even bothering to seek out Seung-gil. Getting his hands smudge free was more important. He didn’t know what kind of paint it was, and he wasn’t risking ruining his favourite jacket because of it.

 

“It’s on water basis,” the brunet added helpfully, leaning against the dining table in a guilty fashion. “Easy to wash off skin.”

 

Leo quirked an eyebrow in amusement, questioning why Seung-gil’s roommate knew such a thing. But, as the brunet probably was an art student, Leo didn’t bother to actual ask how he knew. There simply were things only people majoring in the craft knew about.

 

True to his promise, the paint vanished after a few solid scrubs. Drying his clammy hands, Leo returned to face the roommate.

 

A shy blush had crept upon the brunet’s face. “I haven’t properly introduced myself yet,” the brunet mumbled, offering Leo an outstretched hand. “Guang Hong Ji. I’m Seung-gil’s roommate.”

 

Excited to learn the brunet’s name, Leo took the offered hand with excitement and shook it. “Leo de la Iglesia, a friend of the other two. I don’t really have a connection with Seung-gil so-” he made a wild hand gesture with his unoccupied hand.

 

“It’s nice to meet you. Seung-gil doesn’t talk much about his personal life, so I thought...” the brunet briefly looked sorrowful. “But it seems he has people who care about him.”

 

 “You seem to care,” Leo noted, appreciating Guang Hong’s fondness of Seung-gil. The Korean wasn’t easy to get along with, easily noted by the fact this was his fourth roommate in the span of two years.

 

Guang Hong rolled his eyes, eyeing Leo as if it was obvious. It seemed Seung-gil’s habits were rubbing off. “Of course I do, he would die without me.”

 

A chuckled rolled of Leo’s tongue. He almost sounded like Yuuri. “You should talk with Phichit, he still thinks a miracle Seung-gil is alive.”

 

A brief look of confusion crossed Guang Hong’s face. “Which one was Phichit again. The one with the glasses or...”

 

“The one without glasses, or better said, the one who’s all over Seung-gil,” in the back of his mind, Leo could already hear Phichit shout ‘Hey’. No, Phichit wasn’t helplessly in love with Seung-gil. It was all an illusion.

 

Guang Hong let out a soft laugh, a peaceful smile on his face. “Should have known,” the brunet chimed happily. “He was all over Seung-gil the moment he had spotted him. I was glad the other one had stopped him- I was afraid I had to start all over again.”

 

Leo would lie if he said he wasn’t curious. Guang Hong clearly was doing some kind of art project, and it seemed Seung-gil was involved in one way or another. “What exactly were you doing with Seung-gil, painting him?”

 

A cheeky grin crawled up on the brunet’s face. So he wasn’t just all fluff and bunnies. “You could say that,” Guang Hong’s eyes gleamed playfully.

 

Returning back to the open living space, Leo understood why it was so warm in the dorm room.  Seung-gil was sitting on a stool and seemed perfectly at ease. A thick book was carefully propped against one of the stool’s legs, a brightly coloured bookmark peeking out from between the pages. However, that wasn’t the interesting part. For starters, Seung-gil was nearly but naked aside from a pair of briefs, and paint. A lot of paint. It was like if someone had painted a galaxy on the man’s body, stars, planets and other things Leo recalled seeing during his younger brother’s galaxy phase. It was breathing taking.

 

“You did this?” Leo asked, unable to hide his amazement.

 

Flustered, Guang Hong nodded. “Yes, for a project. I’m not finished yet, I tried to avoid the hands and face as long as possible, which wasn’t exactly easy,” he explained, growing more excited by the second that passed by.

 

Phichit, who finally stopped cooing over Seung-gil’s appearance, cocked his head in curiosity. “Why avoiding the hands and face?”

                                                                                                         

Both Seung-gil and the roommate stared at Phichit, bafflement bright on their faces. “Otherwise you walk around with a blue face,” Seung-gil deadpanned, disbelief strong in his voice.

 

“The paint works the same as markers- they will show up on your soulmates skin, I usually try to use special paint but,” Guang Hong made a distressed noise. “It’s _expensive_.”

 

The words slowly sunk into Phichit’s thick skull. Leo jumped in fright when Phichit let out a loud yell. Shameless, Phichit threw off his coat _and_ sweater, showing off his stomach. Painted stomach.

 

“Holy shit,” Phichit mumbled in awe, rubbing his finger over his belly. “I look like the galaxy.”

 

“Well, it was supposed to look like the galaxy, so I did _something_ right, I guess,” Guang Hong mumbled in embarrassment, clearly unsure how to handle Phichit’s praise.

 

“Don’t worry, it’s great,” Yuuri assured. “But I guess we should leave you to it- I’m sure we can find a way to entertain ourselves,” a warning glare was thrown Phichit’s way.

 

Guang Hong looked honestly relieved and hushed a disappointed looking Phichit away. “This is going to take a while,” he mused, offering Phichit a tired smile. “I’ll make sure to take pictures once it’s finished.”

 

“Phichit also can take the pictures,” Leo offered, noticing his friend fidgeting on the spot. “He’s a photography student- it could look good for your portfolio.”

 

The way Guang Hong’s eyes lit up let Leo know that it was the right thing to suggest. “I would love that,” the brunet said in amazement, gaze directed at Phichit. “If you wouldn’t mind, of course!” he added, face red with embarrassment.

 

Phichit, like Guang Hong, seemed perfectly content with the plan. “If I can keep the pictures then yes, I would love to,” a flirty wink was sent Seung-gil’s way. “Seung-gil never wants to pose for me anyway, so I don’t have that many pictures of him.”

 

So, after a quick five-minute discussion, it was decided that Phichit and Yuuri would return to their dorm room. Phichit would return with his equipment while Yuuri would stay. It was getting a tad late, and Yuuri had an early morning shift- which meant that he had to get out of bed before even the sun had started to rise.

 

Grabbing one of the dining seats, Leo plopped down next to Guang Hong. There was still plenty of space for the latter to move around, but they were close enough to have a proper conversation. “So, you’re stuck with me for now.”

 

“Oh, that’s terrible,” Guang Hong said sarcastically, rummaging through a large assortment of brushes. “I hoped that you also would leave, but alas.”  

 

“He doesn’t mind you,” Seung-gil mumbled suddenly, not even looking up from his re-opened book. “He’s just a drama queen.”

 

Leo quirked an eyebrow in amusement, eyeing a rapidly red growing Guang Hong. “I’m not sure if that’s exactly reassuring, but I’ll take it.”

 

There was a surprisingly easy chemistry between them. Leo wasn’t exactly surprised, he got along easily with people, though not on the same level as Phichit. Of course, it helped that Guang Hong was easy to get along with.

 

“Art student?” Leo questioned, easing into the seating. Guang Hong made a humming noise, nodding briefly while continuing to paint Seung-gil’s back.

 

“First year,” Guang Hong added, though it seemed somewhat obvious as Leo never had seen the brunet before. “And you? Also an art student?”

 

“Nah, I major in music,” he said proudly. “Second year, by the way.”

 

This seemed to peak the brunets interest. “Do you sing or, you know...” Guang Hong made a wild gesture with his arm, splatters of paint raining off the tip of the brush. “Play an instrument?”

 

“Mainly guitar and songwriting,” Leo smiled as Guang Hong’s excitement. “Sometimes singing,” he added. “But it isn’t exactly the best.”

 

A sweet laughter rolled pass Guang Hong’s lips. “I can play a tiny bit of piano, and I sing, though it’s terrible.”

 

“I can vouch for that,” Seung-gil wrinkled his nose in disgust.

 

Guang Hong pouted, a bright blush clouding his cheeks. “I said I was sorry,” the brunet mumbled.

 

“Singing in the shower?” Leo asked curiously. Noting the way Guang Hong’s face lit up, Leo was pretty sure that he had been right.

 

“Don’t encourage him, I’m not in the mood of another rendition of ‘I can’t help falling in love with you’, whenever it’s the slow or pop version.”

 

Guang Hong was a serious sweetheart. He was a sap from authentic love songs.

 

“Hush, it’s embarrassing,” Guang Hong mumbled, ears fiery-red.

 

Smiling, Leo let his mouth run. “It’s cute,” he mumbled. “I mean, between Phichit’s love for K-pop and musicals and Yuuri’s odd mismatch of genres, it’s nice to hear some proper music.”

 

“Says the one who listens to shitting pop music?” Seung-gil commented, a faint hint of tease lingering his voice.

 

Seung-gil squeaked loudly as Guang Hong pinched his side. “Don’t be rude,” he muttered as he offered Leo a cheery smile.

 

He mouthed the brunet a ‘thanks’. Somehow, he wasn’t sure how it happened, the time ticked by at the speed of light, announcing that it was well past midnight when Guang Hong finally finished up his work. But, honestly, Leo didn’t care he was going to be tired the next morning. It has been a while he had such a connection with someone. Maybe the last person had been his soulmate, who had gradually slotted into his life. Though, Leo wouldn’t be surprised to see Guang Hong fitting into his life as comfortably as his unnamed soulmate did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this chapter was a bit angstier. But I decided after posting the first chapter to keep it sweet and light-hearted with the occasional pinch of feelings added into the mix. So yeah, another sweet and silly chapter. 
> 
> I'm not sure when the next update will be, this really depends on how busy college will be. I'll aim for this weekend, but I can't guarantee anything.
> 
> Also, comments are kudos make my day. I was seriously blown away by the feedback on the previous chapter. Also feel free to point out mistakes, as the editing is a bit rushed.
> 
>  **Chapter Title is from:** I can't help falling in Love with you - Elvis Presley


	3. Can you feel the Love Tonight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here. The angst has arrived.

Quite the crowd already had gathered around the coffee café. It was no surprise, really. The place wasn’t necessarily expensive, it was close to the dormitories _and_ students simply couldn’t live without their daily dose of caffeine. Guang Hong was no exception to this rule.

 

He had left his dorm-room bleary-eyed, hair messy and clipped back in a hurry and several paint-smudges covering his face. Surprisingly, he wasn’t even the worst-dressed or most tired looking student. The latter was awarded at Seung-gil, who looked like he was running on caffeine and nothing else. Which couldn’t exactly be healthy. On the other hand, being a student wasn’t a healthy occupation period. The fact nobody in line had dropped death yet was a small miracle itself.

 

“You’re okay?” Guang Hong mumbled, carefully touching Seung-gil’s arm.

 

The Korean swayed a bit, blinking rapidly to regain focus. “If I drop dead right here sell off my organs. At least one person will walk out of here without a student loan.”

 

Well, Seung-gil wasn’t fine. Nevertheless, Guang Hong hadn’t expected anything less. The raven-haired student probably hadn’t slept in forty-eight hours, if not more. Seung-gil had woken up Saturday morning and hadn’t left for bed ever since. “If you insist,” Guang Hong mumbled, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. “You’re a terrible friend. You’re suggesting me to do something _illegal_. Do you want me to be a criminal?”

 

“You already are a criminal,” Seung-gil stated soberly. “You stole Leo’s favourite sweater, remember?”

 

A flush crawled up his neck. “I didn’t steal it,” he mumbled in defence. “He forgot it at our place, and I keep it safe until he picks it up.”

 

“You sleep in it,” there was no avoiding Seung-gil’s observing nature. Or at least when being observant was useful for him.

 

Rolling his eyes, Guang Hong pretty much admitted defeat. “Fine, have it your way. How much to keep you quiet?”

 

A small smirk quirked on Seung-gil’s lips. For a brief moment, the Korean had returned from the death, looking more alive than he had done in the last forty-eight hours. “One coffee will suffice,” his expression dropped, and Seung-gil once again looked like a zombie.

 

The line slowly grew shorter, and after what felt like an eternity, Guang Hong was nearly pressed against the counter, finally first in line. A familiar bespectacled face gave him a sympathetic smile, and Guang Hong returned it. He wouldn’t in a thousand years switch roles with Yuuri. Monday morning rushes were terrible.

 

“The usual,” Guang Hong mumbled, getting out his wallet to pay for the caffeine-filled cups. “Leo, Phichit, Seung-gil and I.”

 

Yuuri laughed softly as he started to scribble down the orders. “So they got you and Seung-gil to fetch coffee.”

 

“Obviously,” Seung-gil mumbled, rolling his eyes in slight annoyance. “Those lazy asses.”

 

“You don’t mind it,” Guang Hong countered, grinning sneakily. “You’ll get your before exams cuddle with Phichit as a reward. All I get is a thanks before I have to move on to my own classes.”

 

A blush crawled up on the Korean’s pale face. “That was classified,” he hissed, a faint hint of panic lingering between the words.

 

“I already knew, Phichit isn’t really... private,” Yuuri said dryly. “Now, hush, more people need their caffeine fix,” the two roommates were ushered out of the line, making room for another sleep-deprived student.

 

~*~

 

Leo had been tuning his guitar when the strong smell of coffee hit him. Instinctively looking up, he spotted Guang Hong in the doorway of the room. The brunet looked tired, probably having to spend most of the night working on a last minute project by the looks of it. Yet, an adorable smile softened his tired features.

 

“One coffee for a certain music student,” the brunet announced mid-yawn, eyes alive with fondness.

 

“You’re a life saviour!” Leo exclaimed, carefully putting away his guitar. As Guang Hong entered the room, Leo made some grabbing movements, eyeing the warm cup with a particular hunger.

 

Grinning cheekily, Guang Hong handed him the cup. “To be fair, the coffee is probably the life-saviour,” the brunet stated matter-of-factly. “Plus you own me money for the coffee. Only Seung-gil gets free coffee from me,” he added, and with one hand, Guang Hong unfolded a chair and sat opposite of Leo.

 

Amused and slightly confused, he threw Guang Hong a curious gaze. “Seung-gil gets free coffee?”

 

“He blackmails me,” the brunet mumbles, nipping the coffee-cup. “Plus I’m still in debt with him.”

 

Leo did wonder on how Guang Hong managed to get in debt by Seung-gil. On the other hand, he had a vague gut feeling that Guang Hong used the Korean as a reference for many of his drawings. It is hard to find someone who was willing to sit still for an extended period of time. And, unsurprisingly, Seung-gil had no issue sitting in the same position for an extended period of time. As long as he could read his study book, the Korean was content.

 

“So, what are you working on?” the art student asked with curiosity, the same interest that was reflected in Guang Hong’s expression.

 

Sipping his own coffee, Leo shrugged. “Nothing at the moment, just some early morning practice.”

 

Guang Hong seemed to be curious nevertheless, eyes bright with wonder. “Could you play me something?” he asked quietly, quickly ducking his head to hide his red face.

 

Smiling, Leo carefully placed his cup on the floor and grabbed his guitar. “I could play something,” he suggested, blushing slightly as Guang Hong’s face radiated with happiness. “I think I just have the right song for you.”

 

Correcting the cords, Leo started to play the tune he had learned not too long ago. The reason he had learned it in the first place was that Guang Hong liked the song. As the brunet’s face lit up, eyes bright with life despite the early hours, Leo didn’t regret it. Clearing his throat, he softly sang along with the sound of his guitar.

 

_Wise men say, only fools rush in._

 

Guang Hong has closed his eyes, softly mouthing along with the words Leo whispered. Feeling his heart swell, Leo continued on, fingers gentle strumming the strings of his guitar.

_But I can’t help falling in love with you_

Now the brunet was swaying along, mouth closed in a peaceful, almost love-struck smile. Long lashes fluttered as Guang Hong opened his eyes, meeting Leo’s gaze. Both smiled tenderly at each other, a subtle blush crawling up on Leo’s skin.

_Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?_

Seeing Guang Hong smiling so brightly, Leo wondered whatever his soulmate was like. Would he like it too when Leo played the guitar? And what kind of music taste would he have? The same as Guang Hong’s? Or maybe Leo’s music taste had rubbed off on him? Would he look as happy as Guang Hong did, or would he be bored?

_If I can’t help, falling in love with you._

 

The words rolled off his lips and the last notes slowly faded. Leo felt his heart beating out of his chest, face hot and coloured pink. He couldn’t tear his gaze from Guang Hong, who looked like some otherworldly being- an angel. The only thing that was missing was the halo. This wasn’t good- he couldn’t be falling for his friend. He had a soulmate- a soulmate he liked an awful lot.

 

For the first time in his life, he understood why people urged him to meet his soulmate. Meet him before you fell in love with someone that wasn’t meant for you. Meet him before he fell in love with Guang Hong.

 

Leo coughed awkwardly. The sweet, almost romantic mood dropped immediately, reality came crashing down on both of them. “You know, I love your company,” he mumbled, his voice pitched much higher than usual. “But don’t you have classes in like, five?”

 

Wincing slightly, Guang Hong grabbed his phone, eyes peering at the small screen. “Shit,” the brunet mumbled, eyes growing big with worry.

 

“Sorry, shouldn’t have accepted your request,” Leo muttered, hoping that his voice had recovered enough to sound normal.

 

Guang Hong shook his head softly. “Don’t worry, it was nice- I never had heard you play before,” throwing his bag on his shoulder, the brunet drowned the last bit of his caffeinated coffee. “But now I _have_ to run- my teacher is going to kill me if I’m late.”

 

He waved Guang Hong goodbye as the brunet dashed out of the room- leaving Leo alone to dwell on his feelings. This wasn’t supposed to happen- but it wasn’t the end of the world. He just had to woo his soulmate before Guang Hong could sweep him off his feet. Easy as cake with his top-notch flirting skills and overall smooth charm...

 

He should ask Yuuri for some advice.

 

~*~

 

Lying flat on his stomach, Leo kicked up his legs as he scrolled through his phone. His roommate was busying himself in their small kitchen, humming a familiar tune. It was surprising calm- almost domestic if he had to think about. He didn’t spend much time in his own dorm room, often crashing at either Phichit’s or Guang Hong’s, so this was a nice change of pace.

 

Rolling onto his back, staring at the bare, white ceiling, Leo let his mind wander. Nothing had really changed between Guang Hong and him. They unanimously had agreed that they would forget it, pushing the undeniable attraction between them out of the way. While their friendship had suffered a tad, a certain distant had formed between them, he was grateful for one thing. He had gotten closer to his soulmate.

 

Before, they didn’t necessary talk _that_ much. Sometimes a good morning or a good night, small, useless conversations and silly, often one-sided rants about college. Nowadays, they almost always wished each other good morning, wrote each other through the day. For the first time in his life, Leo had to wash his arm because he had run out of space to write on.

 

His heart jumped a little when his left arm started to tingle. Lifting up the arm, Leo watched as words began to form on the lighter part of his arm. Smiling at the curly handwriting, Leo regretted never working on his writing. It was hideous compared to his soulmate’s handwriting, though, to be fair, in his mind his soulmate was probably the most beautiful human being existence. There was just no way he wasn’t. The handwriting, the drawings, the fact he used to have a pet _bunny_. Everything screamed ‘too good for this world cinnamon roll.'

 

‘I can see what’s happening,’ the freshly written text read.

 

Frowning, Leo tried to figure out what it meant. He mentally already had sung the lyrics, but this could be caused by his musical brain who changed everything in a song. It also just could be a text message, a very cryptic, confusing text message, but a text message nonetheless.

 

“Hey, Emil!” Leo yelled, deciding that his roommate probably could help him out with his small dilemma. “Remember the lyrics game?”

 

A ‘yes’ came from the kitchen, followed by a hearty laugh. Emil had been his roommate since the beginning, and honestly, Leo couldn’t be happier. The big guy was a total sweetheart, keeping the place clean, doing his laundry, was quite a decent cook and a _terrific_ baker.

 

“I can see what’s happening,” Leo sang in tune, remembering the text very well.

 

There was a brief pause before Emil’s reply came. “What?”

 

A brief moment Leo had to urge to reply, but he realised that was actually Emil’s response. It seemed that great mind thought alike. “And they don’t have a clue,” Leo added, waiting for Emil to finish him.

 

“Who?”

 

Unable to suppress his joy, a loud laugh rolled past his parted lips. He was probably reading too much into it, but it would be absolutely mind-blowing if his soulmate were trying to woo him with Disney music.

 

“What brought that up?” Emil’s chipper voice prodded against his thoughts, forcing himself to refocus on reality. “Singing Disney all of the sudden.”

 

A softer, more real laugh rolled off his tongue. “My soulmate sent me the first line,” Leo explained, propping himself against the armrest, facing the kitchen. “Do you think I’m reading too much into it or?”

 

“Depends. I would say, try,” Emil gave him a cheerful grin and a thumbs-up. “You can at least try to see if he’s as big of a Disney geek as you are.”

 

Leo should’ve felt offended. Emil literally called him a Disney geek- but on the other hand, he was proud of his knowledge of Disney music. He ‘blamed’ his many younger siblings for that. “I’ll try- thanks!”

 

Picking up a pen from the coffee table, Leo jotted down his short response. ‘What?’

 

 His soulmate responded immediately, and to Leo’s delight, his gut feeling had been right.

 

‘And they don’t have a clue.’  

 

Grinning, Leo wrote down the response in a hurry, curious where this would lead to. His soulmate never really had shown much interest in music. Therefore, it was nice to see him dipping into Leo’s territory of interest. On the other hand, Disney music was always a great way to bond with people, as nearly everyone liked it.

 

Leo hesitated, wondering if he should add something else. After a short debate, he added something to his answer. ‘Are you seriously quoting a Disney song to me?’

 

Leo could image his soulmate grinning- at least that’s what he would’ve done. Like expected, two different messages were written down in a hurry, handwriting slightly more messy than usual.

 

The first message was the continuation of the lyrics-chain, which didn’t even surprise him. ‘They fall in love and here is the bottom line,’ was added underneath the previously written lyrics. The second message appeared somewhere else, the red colour soft against his skin tone. ‘Yes. Is that a bad thing?’

 

He was so gone. His soulmate was too sweet. ‘No, I love it,’ he noted down without even thinking. ‘I’m a big Disney fan!’

 

Realising that he had yet to continue the lyric-chain, Leo wrote another quick message while his soulmate was already replying.

 

‘Me too,’ the response was almost unreadable, which was a first. ‘What’s your favourite Disney movie?’

 

Leo hesitated briefly, wondering whenever he was going to be honest or not. The Lion King was a great second choice, but it wasn’t his favourite. Well, it didn’t matter, if they ever got together, his soulmate would know the truth sooner or later. ‘Princess and the Frog,’ he answered. It was his younger sister’s favourite movie and as she watched it a lot...let’s say Leo had seen the movie many times. It had grown on him, it was a thing between him and his sister. Also, the movie was good, much better than some of the overhyped movies.

 

‘And yours?’ he added, realising that his soulmate hadn’t responded in a while. ‘The Lion King?’

 

‘Either Mulan or Tangled. The songs are so good.’

 

Groaning, Leo fell back onto the couch, once again staring at the ceiling. His soulmate was going to be the death of him. “Emil, I’m dead,” he moaned dramatically. “His favourite Disney movies are Mulan and Tangled. He’s too pure for this world.”

 

Emil laughed loudly, probably not feel all that sorry for him. “You should just meet him,” Emil suggested. “He sounds lovely.”

 

“I can’t,” Leo whined, picking up a stray pillow and pressing his face against it. “He’ll be disappointed,” he added in a low whisper, his heart clenching painfully.

 

He had been sure that Emil hadn’t heard him, but his roommate’s response hit right home. “Maybe he thinks the same,” Emil said casually. “I mean, it’s nerve-wracking to meet your soulmate, especially if you actually like them. You don’t want to disappoint them.”

 

Knowing his roommate well enough, Emil probably was rubbing his bare arm. For whatever reason, the poor guy didn’t have a soulmate. It wasn’t unheard of, but Emil had been the first one he had met- and he had met only two in the span of his twenty-year-long life.

 

“Should we change subjects?” Leo suggested, sounding apologetic.

 

A surprisingly hearty laugh caught Leo of guard. “Don’t worry about. Feel free to rant about your soulmate. It works wonders to just talk about.”

 

“What would I do without you?” he muttered.

 

“Die of hunger. But continue, I want to know everything about him, from his favourite colour to the name of his future firstborn.”

 

The tight, nerve-filled pressure on his chest loosened a bit. “Emil, he’s gay. I doubt he’ll ever have a firstborn.”

 

“That’s what you picked up?” Emil answered with a low chuckle. “You’re too far gone- I won’t be able to save you from drowning in the endless pit that’s your soulmate.”

 

“Maybe I don’t want to,” Leo responded without much of a thought. Maybe he didn’t mind falling hopelessly in love with his soulmate. He was _supposed_ to fall in love with his soulmate, and the latter made it rather easy for him.

 

~*~

 

Pulling his hair in distress, Guang Hong paced around the living room. “His favourite movie is the Princess and the Frog,” he whined, talking to no one in particular. “Why is he so precious?”

 

Seung-gil rolled his eyes, leaning casually against the counter while waiting for the water to start boiling. “Just suck his dick already,” the Korean blurted out, not looking remotely ashamed by his words.

 

Guang Hong stopped mid-step, face growing rapidly red. “I don’t even know his name,” he said almost hysterical, throwing his arm in the air. “What kind of logic is that? First suck his dick and then learn his name?”

 

All he got in return was a nonchalant shrug.

 

Realising that Seung-gil wouldn’t answer, Guang Hong continued to pace around. This was bad, terrible. He really should meet up with his soulmate- but he was scared. What if his soulmate was disappointed with him. Guang Hong was exactly handsome, nor really funny or smart. He didn’t really have anything going for him, unlike his friends.

 

Phichit was very charming and a bundle of sunshine. Yuuri, while shy and a bit awkward, was an absolute sweetheart and an amazing cook. Seung-gil was handsome. He had the mysterious bad-boy vibe and he very smart, passing all his tests with excellent scores. Oh boy. Leo. Funny, charming, loveable, silly, a dork, musically talented and honestly, his friend probably has the prettiest smile Guang Hong ever had come across.

 

“I can hear you think,” Seung-gil mumbled, seemingly coming out of nowhere. “Don’t downgrade yourself like that.”

 

Guang Hong squeaked in embarrassment. “But there isn’t anything good about me,” he mumbled. The words felt more real as he spoke them aloud.

 

Seung-gil turned off the stove, looking downright annoyed. “I’m so done with you,” the raven-haired student grumbled, marching into the living room with a determined expression.

 

After a few long strides, Seung-gil stood in front of him, looming over him. The Korean probably was five inches taller than he was. A squeak escaped his mouth when cold hands squashed his cheeks together.

 

“Listen, you have plenty of good qualities,” Seung-gil snapped, glaring down at Guang Hong. But there was more in the man’s eyes than just annoyance, there was hurt, sadness and _fear_. “You’re cute, a fantastic painter, you _care_ about people, determined to prove yourself, a great roommate and foremost, you’re an irreplaceable friend.”

 

An eerie silence crawled up the walls and hung in the air. Guang Hong had never heard Seung-gil talk so much, but that wasn’t what made him feel terrible. He never had heard and seen Seung-gil this venerable. For whatever reason, this must really have hit home with Seung-gil.

 

Gently, Guang Hong pried the Korean’s cold hands of his face. Offering Seung-gil a thin smile, he pulled him into in a hug.

 

The Korean tensed up immediately, but Guang Hong couldn’t really care right now. He just wanted to hug his roommate, his _friend_. “Thank you,” he murmured. He really needed that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMGOSH, REALLY!?! The response had been amazing. This week has been kind of shitty and the comments brighten my days so much. I'm so grateful ^o^
> 
> Anyway, I plotted the rest and this possibly will be six chapters, so were are about halfway. My planning is to update weekly, but this heavily depends on how busy I am. ~~(Especially with Camp NaNo coming up. Still so much plotting to do.~~
> 
> Per usual, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Also, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
> 
>  **Song lyric used:**  
>  I can't help falling in love with you - Elivs Presley  
> Can you feel the love tonight - The Lion King  
>  **Title:** Can you feel the love tonight - Elton John


	4. Just a little change, small to say the least

“I call bull,” Guang Hong radiated with confidence. He knew Seung-gil well enough by now, enough to see through his poker face.

 

His roommate’s expression briefly flickered, and a triumphant smiled formed on Guang Hong’s lips. He would be off laundry duty for an entire month.

 

Looking as stoic as ever, Seung-gil flipped his cards, showing off three aces. He hadn’t been lying.

 

“Wrong,” a small, satisfied smile broke Seung-gil’s stoic expression.

 

Obviously shocked, Guang Hong stared at his cards, the few cards that Seung-gil still had in procession and the enormous pile of cards he just had ‘won’.

 

Groaning, Guang Hong threw his cards down and buried his face in his arms. He just had won himself a month worth of doing laundry. Why again had he thought it was a bright idea to play Bullshit with Seung-gil. The guy had an incredible poker face.

 

If it had been anybody else, he would’ve expected loud cackling. Nevertheless, Seung-gil probably looked like a smug little shit nonetheless. One month being of laundry duty was, well, a small blessing in the grim world of a student.

 

~*~

 

Leo nearly toppled off the couch as his phone started to blare. He just had returned from a long, exhausting trip to see his family for Christmas and New Year and he had crashed on the couch, not in the mood to head for bed. Of course, he promptly had fallen asleep. However, he regretted not sleeping in his bed. His neck felt sore, and he stubbed his toe in the attempt to grab his phone from the coffee table.

 

Accepting the call, Leo kept the device a safe distance from his ear. He couldn’t risk it being Phichit- it wouldn’t be the first time his friend would cause his ears to ring.

 

“Leo!” Phichit basically shouted, making the brunet wince nonetheless despite his precautions. “It’s an emergency!”

 

Leo rolled his eyes, knowing Phichit’s so-called ‘emergencies’ very well. He wasn’t going to jump into his car and fetch Phichit whatever product he needed- especially not with the thick layer of snow that coated the streets and homes.

 

“Sure,” he mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

 

Phichit made an offended noise, followed by what sounded like ‘traitor’. “It really is,” his friend mumbled. “Our anniversary is coming up, you know, two years together but-”

 

A pause. A somewhat desperate groan and a sigh of defeat. “He doesn’t want to do anything romantic. He just wants to hang out with the five of us, he doesn’t even _care_ what we do. We could go skydiving, and he’ll be happy.”

 

The five of us. A year ago it had been four- yet it didn’t sound wrong or unfamiliar. Actually, it sounded just right. The five of us. Guang Hong had been a fantastic addition to their group, kind, funny, a bit silly, dorky. He got along well with Seung-gil, which was a feat on it own, Phichit adored him, and Yuuri probably couldn’t hate anyone. And Leo, well, Leo liked him, a lot. Despite the previous tension between them, they managed to ‘man-up’ and kept themselves professional. Though Leo still wouldn’t mind kissing every freckle on Guang Hong’s face.

 

“Just do something during the day and use the evening for sweet cuddling and probably a night of passion,” Leo suggested, barely able to keep a straight face. He could image Phichit being all flustered

 

An unnecessarily loud groan came from the other end. “I can’t believe Yuuri thinks _I_ am the one with a filthy mind,” Phichit mumbled. “But that wouldn’t be a bad idea, I’m sure I can Yuuri or Guang Hong crazy enough to switch with me for a night.”

 

“You _have_ a filthy mind, and so do I, but you’re more open about your... desires,” example one, Phichit shamelessly smacking Seung-gil’s ass. Example two, Phichit clearly having a thing for... marking, and not the cute one where the other would doodle stupid smiley’s and dicks on the other’s their face. “Secondly, I think neither would mind, I even believe that they would be glad. Take their innocent minds into account.”

 

“I hate you,” Phichit mumbled.

 

Rolling his eyes, Leo far from actually believed Phichit. “Love you too,” he teased.

 

“Safe that for your soulmate,” Phichit returned playfully.

 

A blush painted his cheeks and neck red. Why did Phichit have to bring that up? He was nervous enough as it was- he didn’t need Phichit to remind him of the embarrassment of asking his soulmate out.

 

~*~

 

He was screaming. He had chucked the pen across the room, not caring what happened to it. Why did he do that? Why did he ask? He wasn’t prepared for it- not that he would ever be ready for it- but that wasn’t important. What was important was that he had just had _admitted_ he wanted to meet his soulmate.

 

Emil, who probably had been alarmed by his screaming, poked his head of his bedroom, a curious yet cautious look on his face. “You’re okay?” his roommate questioned.

 

“No, I just died,” Leo said dramatically. “I just _confessed_ that I wanted to meet my soulmate- to my _soulmate_!”

 

A soft ‘oh’ escaped Emil’s parted lips. He slipped out of his bedroom, curiosity overtaking the fear. “And, what did he say?”

 

“I don’t know,” he basically shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. “I haven’t _checked_.”

 

Emil gave him an ‘are you kidding me’ look. “Then _check_. He seems sweet, and he likes you, obviously.”

 

Sceptical, yet deciding that Emil was probably right, Leo checked out his left arm, seeking for the familiar colour of the red ink his soulmate used. Never before had six words made him this happy, and, surprisingly, the words weren’t even _that_ unique. Yet, they meant the world to him.

 

‘I would love to meet you,’ was written in a hurry, but Leo didn’t care.

 

A loud squeal forced Leo to look away from his arm. “Congratulations,” Emil chirped, rushing towards him. “He said yes, right?”

 

Leo nodded, surprised that Emil could’ve guessed that answer easily. A brief moment later he was pulled into a bone-crushing hug. “I’m so happy for you, my friend- make sure to take him home one day, he probably will be a delight.”

 

“You sound like my mum,” Leo pointed out, but not bothering to push Emil away from him. All he could do was kick himself, kick himself for not believing in himself, for not believing in his _soulmate_. The guy surely must like him in some way or another. Otherwise, he would’ve stopped talking to him altogether. Now they had to make plans to meet up, which was going to be a hassle with Christmas and mid-term exams just around the corner. But it didn’t matter, they had all the time they needed.

~*~

 

“End me!” Guang Hong shouted, crashing face first into the couch next to Seung-gil.

 

His roommate quirked an eyebrow in mild surprise and curiosity. There was a long, awkward pause before Seung-gil spoke. “Can I sell your organs?”

 

Guang Hong groaned, unable to believe his roommate, his _friend_. “I need them,” he mumbled, throwing Seung-gil a look of disbelief. “Can’t you ask me why I want you to end me like a regular friend?”

 

A ‘since when am I a normal friend’ crossed Seung-gil’s features. Thankfully, the Korean decided to play along. “Okay, why do you want me ‘to end you’?”

 

“He wants to meet me,” the words felt foreign to him. He still couldn’t believe it. It was almost too good to be true.

 

“Congratulations?” Seung-gil never had looked more unsure in his life.

 

Guang Hong smiled somewhat softly. He probably had alarmed the entire dorm-room-complex with his screaming, but it seriously had caught him off guard. Seung-gil’s reaction was actually nice- it kept him grounded instead of completely and utterly freaking out.

 

Seung-gil cocked his head in curiosity and annoyance, probably. “So I can’t sell off your organs?”

 

“No,” Guang Hong deadpanned. “You can when I’m _actually_ dead, which is probably sooner than I would like.”

 

“Deal,” Seung-gil looked awfully serious. He might regret offering his organs.

 

~*~

 

It was loud. Even muted by the thick walls of the laundry, which was located in the basement, Guang Hong still could hear the music. Usually, he would already call the cops- or at least the landlord, but as it was Friday afternoon and the clock barely had struck ten, he decided to ignore the loud party a few floors up. For now. The moment his laundry was finished the party was over, even if he had to call the cops.

 

Seung-gil, being the smart guy he was, had decided to spend his evening in the library. His roommate was always cramming, always. Even when mid-terms were over, and most students were still recovering from a holiday coma, the Korean was studying.

 

Continuing his sketch, Guang Hong hummed softly along to the shitty pop music that was playing. It was Leo’s taste, without a doubt. He was the only one who listened to the thrashy pop music like Beyonce and Taylor Swift. Not that he minded it, it was actually endearing. Plus, it was a great help keeping up his soulmate’s cultural references and taste in pop music. It was one of the things they had common. Both his soulmate and Leo had the same shitty music taste.

 

Swinging his legs, Guang Hong continued his sketch. It wasn’t too bad, spending his Friday afternoon in the laundry of his dormitory. He still had to power through another two weeks of doing Seung-gil’s laundry and down there, the music was decently barely. _decently_. His somewhat peaceful state of mind, however, didn’t last long.

 

He nearly _jumped_ when his phone started to ring, blaring loud music through the otherwise quiet space. His heel crashed into the washing machine, and for a brief moment, the machine sputtered. Thankfully, the familiar humming noise continued after a short moment of quiet.

 

Placing his drawing equipment aside, he hopped off the washing machine and picked up his bag. After digging through it for a brief moment, he managed to find his phone. He was greeted by Phichit’s name flashing angrily on the screen. Wondering why Phichit called, he accepted the call and jumped back onto the washing machine, carefully avoiding his sketchbook.

 

“What’s going on on your side?” Phichit shouted, startling him slightly. He hadn’t expected Phichit to be that _loud_. But on the other hand, it was Phichit he was talking about.

 

“They’re having a party,” Guang Hong replied dryly. “I’m currently hiding in the laundry. If you’re looking for Seung-gil, he’s in the library till closing-time.”

 

It made the most sense that Phichit wanted to speak with Seung-gil. They were boyfriends, after all, and Seung-gil had the tendency to shut off his phone if the spamming got too much.

 

Surprisingly, Phichit didn’t ask anything about Seung-gil. A choked laugh came from the other side, followed by a loud snort. “In the laundry?” Phichit asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

 

Groaning softly, Guang Hong regretted mentioning that he was in the _laundry_ of all places. He should’ve said garage, it was at least less embarrassing. “Yeah, I got laundry duty for an entire month,” he eventually grumbled.

 

“Don’t you guys usually switch?” Phichit was laughing again, this time sounding more genuine and less teasing.

 

“What? Positions or laundry?” Guang Hong asked casually, hoping that he would get Phichit embarrassed.

 

He managed. “I didn’t mean it like that,” Phichit squealed, probably pretty flustered by the sound of it. “I mean don’t you switch between laundry duties.”

 

“Of course we do,” Guang Hong rolled his eyes, a habit he clearly had stolen from Seung-gil. “But I lost Bullshit against Seung-gil,” he explained. “The consultation prize was a one-month subscription on doing the laundry.”

 

“I can’t believe you played Bullshit against _Seung-gil_ , you know that he has a killer poker face,” the disbelief had returned in full force, though Guang Hong could hardly blame him. It had been a stupid idea, to begin with, he should’ve challenged Yuuri or Phichit. Either would crack before he could crack.

 

“Spare me the misery,” Guang Hong mumbled, feeling pretty flustered. “Why did you call anyway?”

 

An excited noise came from Phichit’s side. “You know that this month is our two-year anniversary, right?”

 

Unsurprisingly, Guang Hong didn’t know. Neither Phichit nor Seung-gil had ever mentioned it to him, not that he had expected that. Phichit wasn’t exactly private, but he was very considerate with Seung-gil. If the Korean truly didn’t want something, Phichit wouldn’t force it upon him.

 

“I did not know,” Guang Hong admitted, feeling slightly guilty. Both of them were his friends, yet he didn’t know something so important.

 

“It’s okay,” Phichit chimed, probably already knowing what Guang Hong was thinking. “Now you know. But that isn’t why I called you- well, it’s about the anniversary but not just to tell you, you know.”

 

Phichit was rambling. It wasn’t unusual that the student talked a lot, an awful lot, but usually, it wasn’t like this. Phichit often didn’t ramble, unless he was nervous or extremely excited. Considering the situation, Guang Hong assumed the former, Phichit was nervous.

 

The rambling stopped, followed by a short, tense moment of silence before Phichit blurted out his question. “Are you free the Saturday after the next week?”

 

Guang Hong hated himself. And Seung-gil. He definitely shouldn’t forget about Seung-gil, whose habits and choice of words had rubbed off on him. Yet, in a moment of weakness, he let himself go. “You know that I have a soulmate, right?”

 

There was a groan, followed by the noise of skin slapping against skin. “You sound just like him,” Phichit stated, sounding tired.

 

He mumbled an apology, followed by a proper answer. “I’m free except the evening, I-” _am meeting my soulmate_. “Have to do a project with a classmate of mine.”

 

Nice save. Not.

 

“That’s great!” Phichit once again sounded energetic and chipper- which felt more in character then hearing his friend being tired. “We’re going out swimming- shameless excuse to see Seung-gil nearly naked- so make sure you get your hands on some swim trunks.”

 

Guang Hong blinked slowly, staring blankly at the white wall of the laundry. Was Phichit seriously going to swim for his two year anniversary with Seung-gil, _with_ their friends? He honestly had expected something more romantic- on the other hand, it was Seung-gil they were talking about. The Korean probably would be far from happy to spend an entire day going through the romantic bullshit, like watching rom-com’s and making long walks in the park. That was more Guang Hong’s thing, or Leo’s. The latter was also a big sap.

 

“Okay, is there anything else I need to know?” he wanted to know whenever he should bring a gift along or not. He supposed he didn’t have to, but he knew very little about how anniversaries were celebrated. His parents usually celebrated their anniversary by going out for dinner, dragging him along with them.

 

“Uhm, well,” nerves vibrated in Phichit’s voice. “Could I ask for a favour- a present?”

 

Guang Hong couldn’t deny his surprise. “How could I help with a present?” he asked, not sure what happened to Phichit’s capability to think rationally. He was terrible with gifts. “I’m awful coming up with gifts.”

 

An awkward cough followed, and he almost could image Phichit fidgeting. “Well, it ‘s not really something you can buy...” another cough followed. “I would like to, you know, commission a piece of art, for, you see, our anniversary.”

 

He took it back. He wasn’t terrible with gifts, especially compared to _making_ gifts. Phichit wanted _him_ to make his anniversary gift. Was he insane? Shouldn’t he ask Leo to write them some sweet song, it probably was more fitting than just a painting.

 

“Are you serious?” Guang Hong asked quietly, embarrassment colouring his cheeks and ears red. “You want me to make your anniversary gift?”

 

“Of course!” Phichit shouted, sounding like he was honest about this. “You’re an amazing artist. I first was planning on enlarging a picture and prints it- but this is much better.”

 

Guang Hong doubted him, but he decided if this would make Phichit happy, he wasn’t going to complain. He loved making his friend happy and with mid-term exams already passed, he had enough time to create the piece.

 

“Okay, considering that I say ‘yes’, we do you have time to go over the details? We’re working with a short time-span and well-” Guang Hong stopped himself realising that he was babbling.

 

There was a brief moment of quiet in which Phichit was considering his options. “How does tomorrow sound? You can drop by at my place, steal some of Yuuri’s food and we can go over the details and cost.”

 

 He still doubted Phichit’s judgement, as there surely were much better artists out there, but he decided to go with the flow. Phichit, after all, was pretty stubborn. It is hard to say no to someone as sweet and kind as Phichit, even as the student could be annoying sometimes.

 

“Yeah, sure, sounds great,” he mumbles, sounding less convincing as he had hoped to sound. Well, there was his low self-esteem again. It wasn’t like it was their first time crossing paths.

 

~*~

                                                                                                                              

It was weird having Guang Hong over in his apartment. Well, dorm room, _shared_ dorm room, but whatever. He never had Guang Hong over and honestly, it all had been sudden. Not that he minded, his friend was good company.

 

“Thank you for letting me stay here,” Guang Hong said, sounding unnecessary grateful. “I didn’t dare to work in my own dorm- Seung-gil is good at arriving out of the blue.”

 

Leo wasn’t exactly sure what his friend was talking about. Guang Hong had explained he was working on some secret project that nobody was allowed to know off, especially Phichit and Seung-gil. Leo wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with their upcoming anniversary, which was about two weeks away.

 

“It’s no issue, really,” Leo made a vague hand gesture, trying to look like it truly didn’t matter. “Though, if it isn’t too much to ask, can I know what project you’re doing.”

 

A bright, pride-filled smile crossed Guang Hong’s features, and Leo felt his heart swell. It was something Guang Hong was passionate about, no doubt about it. He had noticed that the brunet only smiled like that when he was going to work on something he took pride in.

 

“Well, last Friday, Phichit asked me to make him their anniversary gift- well, his gift. Yesterday, Seung-gil did the same. So now I’ve to make two paintings in the span of two weeks, which is kind of suicide yet very exciting,” the brunet was rambling, unpacking his bag.

 

A big piece of canvas was already put on an enormous Isle, and several bottles of paint and brushes were littering Leo’s dining table. Yet, Guang Hong seemed to add even more, soon also stuff like tape, even more paint and tissues were covering the table.

 

Leo let Guang Hong bustle around for a bit, getting himself comfortable on his couch. Emil wouldn’t return anytime soon, going out for dinner with a friend and catching a movie after that. Though, his silent promise that he would let Guang Hong at peace be was testing him. It was quiet in the room and Leo couldn’t handle quiets well.

 

“So, what’re you going to paint?” he asked curiously.

 

Guang Hong stopped with whatever he was doing and started at Leo in mild confusion. Said confusion, however,  soon changed into understanding. “Oh, a big drawing of pictures both of them gave me,” Guang Hong rummage around his stuff, probably looking for said pictures. “Here, take a look.”

 

The pictures were downright adorable.

 

The first picture was a picture of Phichit and Seung-gil, both smiling though Phichit’s smile definitely was brighter. A few young kids were asleep on their laps, and by the looks of it, they were Phichit’s cousins. He understood why Phichit- he assumed it was Phichit’s chosen picture- would pick this. It was unusual to see Seung-gil smile that genuinely and catch it on tape.

 

The second picture was a picture of both of them asleep. By the looks of it, it was made on the same day as the first picture. At least, both of them were wearing the same set of clothes as in the previous picture. Both of them were asleep, Phichit leaning peacefully against Seung-gil’s shoulder while the latter had his face semi-buried in Phichit’s hair. It was a cute picture, especially considering that Seung-gil was smiling slightly _and_ they were holding hands.

 

“They’re so gross,” Leo mumbled, handing back the pictures. “I can hardly believe how domestic they’re- it’s almost nauseating.”

 

Guang Hong chuckled softly, taping the first picture, Phichit’s picture, on the corner of the canvas. “I think it’s sweet,” a lovable smile brighten his features. “I like them both, so I definitely wish them happiness. Plus I’m happy they found happiness and love in each other even before they knew they were soulmates.”

 

Leo almost choked on his breathe when the word ‘soulmate’ was dropped. In exactly two weeks, he would meet his own. It was nerve-wracking and almost not worth it. He should’ve done the same as Seung-gil and ignore his soulmate, deciding who he wanted to fall in love with.

 

“I’m sorry, did I made you uncomfortable,” Guang Hong both sounded and looked concerned. Leo wouldn’t be surprised to see that he had frozen up, looking slightly shocked.

 

Shaking his head furiously, he shot Guang Hong a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I just forgot.”

 

“It’s okay- it caught me by surprise the first time too- I can barely believe that they knew each other for over a year and a half and simply didn’t realise that they were soulmates,” Guang Hong was clearly rambling, but Leo couldn’t blame him. It was a tender subject, soulmates.

 

Secretly, it was pretty much his only beacon of hope that Guang Hong was his soulmate, Phichit’s story. If Seung-gil and Phichit could dance around each other for a year and a half, then he and Guang Hong could do too. But he probably didn’t have to keep on hoping for too long- in two weeks time he would know who was supposed to be his other half.

 

The subject was dropped, and a more light-hearted mood filled the room. Hours ticked by and by the time Guang Hong was done with sketching, the clock had struck ten and Emil had returned.

 

Leo hadn’t introduced Guang Hong to Emil yet, nor was he even sure if Guang Hong _knew_ he had a roommate. Regrettably, he also had forgotten to tell Emil that Guang Hong would be spending time in their dorm room. Though, knowing Emil, he probably would love Guang Hong.

 

Emil walked into the living room whistling a happy tune, completely unaware of the addition of an extra person and a shit-ton of art supplies. Only when the student dropped his bag on the couch, he realised there were more bags then there previously had been.

 

“Welcome home,” Leo greeted him, sounding rather unsure of himself. “I- well-”

 

“Ah, you must be Guang Hong,” Emil shouted, eyes bright with life. “Leo talks about you- an awful lot. Though not as much as about his soulmate.”

 

If Guang Hong had been startled by Emil’s sudden greeting, he didn’t show it. He tucked his paintbrush behind his ear, wiped one his hands on his paint-stained shirt and offered said hand to Emil. “Nice to meet you, you’re Leo’s roommate?”

 

Emil grinned brightly. “The one and only. Emil Nekola, nice to meet you.”

 

They shook hands and Guang Hong took the opportunity to introduce himself. “Guang Hong Ji- apparently one of Leo’s favourite gossip-subjects.”

 

A blush crawled up his neck and painted his ears red. Did Guang Hong just make a joke? Or was he actually mortified by the fact Leo talked about him with his roommate? “I don’t gossip,” he murmured, hoping that Guang Hong wasn’t too annoyed with him.

 

A smile, Leo’s favourite smile of them all, was thrown his way. “Don’t worry, I also gossip about you with Seung-gil- even despite him knowing you.”

 

Now Leo felt himself growing curious. “And what do you gossip about?”

 

Guang Hong offered him a cheeky grin, a mischievous glint was in his eyes. “Blood donation, organ donation and whatever way we could make profit of you.”

 

“Are you serious?” this time Guang Hong must have been joking. You just didn’t talk about how to sell people their organs to make profit.

 

“Two-hundred percent,” Guang Hong promised which resulted in Emil laughing softly. “Don’t worry, I somehow managed to promise my own organs to Seung-gil too. I don’t trust him.”

 

“I like you,” Emil said heartily, patting Guang Hong on the shoulder. “If you ever get tired of Leo, you still can come to me.”

 

“I’ll take your offer, though I doubt I’ll ever get tired of Leo,” a flirty wink was sent his way. He was officially dead, finished, done, muerto- he simply couldn’t handle Guang Hong. Scrap the ‘secretly’ hoping that Guang Hong was his soulmate, he would _kill_ to have the brunet being his soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The editing is a bit garbage-ey- but after losing half of the editing, I just wanted to get it finished. So yeah. It had been a struggle to write, but I'm decently happy with it, though there are a lot of scenes and time skips within this chapter.
> 
>  _Muero_ = Spanish for 'dead' (figuartivly- acording to the internet)
> 
> Anyway, this feedback has been amazing. I can't believe how many love this fic get, it makes me happy and so pumped to write. (Hence why I try to update weekly, even if the chapters are a bit short.
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated, just like constructive criticism.
> 
>  **Title:** Beauty and the Beast - Beauty and the Beast


	5. In the end, I wanna be standing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied, it seems. But as the chapter was getting too long, I had to postpone the real meeting. My apologies.

With his blanket wrapped around his shoulders and his pillow tucked under his arm, Guang Hong tiptoed out of his room. His flip-flops made little to no noise, which was a small miracle itself. Those things were notorious for making noise at the most inconvenient time. His destination was close by, maybe a few steps away, yet it took him a while to take the last step.

 

Swallowing nervously, Guang Hong knocked on Seung-gil’s bedroom, simultaneously checking on the time. It was a bit past midnight, so it wasn’t too bad. Maye the Korean was still awake, reading some schoolbook.

 

The sound of a bed groaning under the change of pressure was the first noise that greeted Guang Hong. The next noise was an obviously loud sign of annoyance. A soft click followed, and suddenly light crept underneath the bedroom door. Well, at least now Seung-gil was awake. Guang Hong desperately hoped that he hadn’t woken him- a tired Seung-gil was a scary Seung-gil.

 

“What do you want?” Guang Hong jumped slightly at hearing Seung-gil’s voice, but managed to regain his composure. By the sound of it, the Korean had been awake when Guang Hong knocked.

 

Biting his bottom lip, Guang Hong tried to calm his nerves and answer- which seemed much easier in his mind than in real life. Why again did he think this was a good idea? “Can I come in?”

 

He had expected a ‘no’, so he was pleasantly surprised when Seung-gil responded with a ‘go ahead’, though he didn’t sound thrilled about it.

 

Tucking his pillow underneath one arm, Guang Hong pushed open the door and stepped inside.

 

He had never been in Seung-gil’s room. While bland-looking at first glance, it definitely was filled with personal things. Bookshelves were nearly bulging under the weight of the books- both study books and books meant for leisure. A few photos were propped on the small desk, which was neatly organised. A few clothes were littering the floor, but next to that, it was very tidy and very Seung-gil like.

 

Noting Seung-gil’s tired expression, Guang Hong immediately felt guilty. “I’m sorry for bothering you,” he mumbled, fingers reaching out for the comfort of his blanket. “I couldn’t sleep. Nerves.”

 

Seung-gil’s expression softened, an almost kind smile crossed his features. “Tomorrow?”

 

Guang Hong nodded furiously, a blush painted his cheeks, ears and neck red. “Yeah, I was fine till my head hit the pillow. I just can’t sleep and I- well...”

 

“Well...” Seung-gil quirked an eyebrow in mild curiosity. Despite not being very talkative, Seung-gil had gotten much better at getting his message across, whenever he was using gestures or facial expressions.

 

“Can I sleep with you?” mortified by what he just had blurted out, Guang Hong started to splutter, possibly growing even redder in the face or maybe he was turning purple. “In like sharing a bed. Not in a romantic way, I... just...” taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his rapid heartbeat. “When I’m nervous, my parents allowed me to sleep with them. Sleeping with a familiar warm body helps me relax.”

 

He knew this request was rather... personal and probably made Seung-gil very nervous. Seung-gil wasn’t exactly fond of physical contact, even it was shared between people he was close to. Therefore, once again, Guang Hong was taken off guard when his roommate actually agreed.

 

“Sure. My sister sleeps with me during thunderstorms- she’s afraid of them. “

 

In amazement, Guang Hong watched his roommate picking up his pillow and pushed it to the wall, creating space for Guang Hong’s pillow. A few choice items were placed on the nightstand, like the man’s phone and what looked like a small tablet. Slowly, a few seconds ticked by and Seung-gil clearly seemed to grow restless. A nervous look was thrown his way, and Guang Hong finally caught on that he was supposed to settle in bed.

 

Guang Hong closed the door behind him and kicked off his flip-flops. Dropping his pillow on the empty headspace, Guang Hong shrugged off his blanket and threw it on the bed. Quickly hooking his phone up on life-support, he crawled in bed, saying nothing but still shooting Seung-gil a grateful smile.

 

Rolling himself into his blanket, Guang Hong turned his back to Seung-gil and flicked off the light. It was surprisingly awkward and far less sexual-tinted then he had expected. He had read plenty of stories that sharing a bed, even not romantically, was very intimate and nerve-wracking. However, all Guang Hong could feel was the slight discomfort coming from Seung-gil.

 

He mentally laughed at himself for finding it an almost disappointment. For some reason, he had expected more, but maybe this was for the best. Seung-gil wasn’t his soulmate and to be frank, Guang Hong was happy about that. He couldn’t image his roommate in any sexual manner whatsoever. He was just Seung-gil, his quiet, smart roommate who hide some personality underneath the many layers of stoicism.

 

Feeling perfectly at ease, Guang Hong closed his eyes and drifted off almost immediately. Now to hope that they wouldn’t end up in an awkward position the next morning.

 

~*~

 

Nothing had happened between them. When Guang Hong had woken up, and he had torn open his tired eyes, he was still facing the rest of the room, his back turned to Seung-gil. He had been glad. It would be very awkward to explain why you were cuddling with you roommate. Especially when both of you had different soulmates. Moving around a bit, Guang Hong let out a yelp when his body tipped off the edge of the bed. Apparently, he still had moved in his sleep. Not to cuddle with Seung-gil, thankfully, yet his body had decided that sleeping on the edge was an absolutely brilliant idea. It wasn’t.

 

With a rather loud thud, Guang Hong fell on the floor. Thankfully, his blanket-burrito had softened the fall, but his limbs were still aching and protesting. He couldn’t blame them. Falling off a bed never had been a comfortable experience.

 

Getting up on two knees, Guang Hong peered at Seung-gil. He had expected that his fall would have woken up his roommate, but the Korean was still asleep. Guang Hong had never seen Seung-gil this peaceful. Admittedly, Guang Hong never had bothered watching his roommate sleep. That would be downright creepy.

 

Deciding that he didn’t want to face Seung-gil’s morning wrath, Guang Hong gathered his pillow, flip-flops and blanket and tip-toed out of the room. It was still early, probably seven-thirty as his natural alarm was an ass. This meant Yuuri wouldn’t arrive for another hour and a half. Well, maybe he could cook up some breakfast. Nothing tasted better than a well-cooked meal after a good night of rest.

 

~*~

 

Leo impatiently was drumming his fingers against his leg. Yuuri first had picked up him, as it had been more convenient. However, being ditched on the backseat all on your own was boring, especially on a Saturday morning when none of them was fully awake and function yet. The conversations had been short and somewhat dull. Though soon, Phichit would’ve fetched Seung-gil and Guang Hong, and he actually had some to chat with. Well, he had Guang Hong to chat with.

 

Clenching his fist, Leo tried to still his nerves. Tonight would be the night that he would meet _him_. His soulmate. It probably wasn’t Guang Hong, which was heart-wrenching. Amongst all his friends, Leo liked to spend his time the most with Guang Hong. The brunet was cute, but also smart, shared his taste in shitty movies and was an avid user of social media, something he couldn’t say about either Seung-gil or Yuuri, who were like the grandpas of their generation.

 

The car door was wrenched open, and the soft brown eyes of Guang Hong peered in. Their eyes automatically met and Leo couldn’t hold back his smile. “Hi,” he mumbled almost breathlessly, which wasn’t even that farfetched. Being around Guang Hong made it sometimes hard to breathe, especially when the brunet smiled his soft, slightly sleepy, smile.

 

Guang Hong quirked a mildly amused eyebrow, his lips were pulled into a teasing grin. “Leo, scoot over, I won’t get my fat ass in the car if you hog all the backseats to yourself,” almost dramatically, Guang Hong gestured to the ‘backseat’ Leo had occupied. It was just the left seat and a small part of the middle-seat.

 

“You don’t have a fat ass,” Leo said blandly. Though, he had to admit it was a nice ass, despite not being an ass man.

 

This, apparently, seemed to surprise Guang Hong. Leo watched as his friend’s face fell into an expression of surprise, a red flush painted the brunet’s neck red. Realizing what he just had said, Leo too grew red in the face.

 

Grateful for Yuuri’s well-timed fake coughing, Leo scooted over, pressing himself against the car door. Getting the hint, Guang Hong climbed into the car, taking the disliked middle-seat. Seung-gil joined them on the backseat and Leo made himself comfortable- as far as that was possible.

 

He was sitting flush against Guang Hong, who seemed to lean more his way than Seung-gil’s. It was understandable, Seung-gil wasn’t exactly comfortable with physical contact- especially from anyone else than family members or Phichit, who had special privileges as his boyfriend.

 

“Slept well?” Guang Hong asked kindly, though Leo noted the obvious nerves that lingered between his words.

 

Had he slept well? No, he had been nervous- too nervous. He maybe had slept a couple of hours before his alarm had started to blare, kicking his sleepy and tired ass out of bed. However, he didn’t want to worry his friend. While Guang Hong wasn’t as bad as Yuuri, Guang Hong definitely had the traits of a mom-friend, which included fretting over a friend.

 

“Had better days,” Leo admitted, stifling a yawn. “I was doing some last-minute school work, and suddenly it was well past midnight.”

 

It was a lie, but Guang Hong seemed to buy it, so it didn’t matter. “Me neither,” Guang Hong admitted, wrinkling his nose adorably. “My phone is surprisingly addictive.”

 

Leo blinked in surprise when Seung-gil shot a curious glance Guang-Hong’s way. While he wasn’t an expert in reading the Korean’s expressions, no-one was, he had the feeling Seung-gil knew _more_ and frankly, Leo was slightly curious.

 

“Surprisingly?” Leo remarked, nudging his friend slightly. “You and your phone are joined at the hip- I don’t think I ever have seen you without it.”

 

His cheeky answer made Guang Hong smile. Mirroring the smile, Leo considered it a win. It was stupid, stupid how he had to be on his toes around Guang Hong. If he knew his boundaries like a normal friend, they maybe wouldn’t have ended up in this situation. Or karma was a bitch and decided that having both physical and emotional attraction to you new, _younger_ friend was perfectly reasonable.

 

Something softly nudged his side and Leo blinked, shaking away the thoughts that clouded his mind. Big brown eyes were watching him, a faint hint of worry was visible.

 

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Guang Hong asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “It would be bad if you spaced out in the pool- what if you drowned?” the brunet frowned, looking like he actually considered it. A slightly horrified look followed after. “Can you even drown in a pool? There are lifeguards, right? I’m not the greatest swimmer... what if I _drown_? It has been years since I’ve swum!”

 

Guang Hong looked actually panicky. Thankfully, it seemed Phichit had caught on. While not necessary having the mum-friend traits, Phichit had lived years with Yuuri, so he definitely must have picked some things up.

 

A soft, caring look crossed Phichit’s expression as he looked over his shoulder, eyeing the two brunets. However, to Leo’s distaste, Phichit’s expression soon was replaced by a mischievous smile. He definitely wasn’t going to like this. “Don’t worry, Guang Hong,” Phichit said loudly, eyes alive with tease. “Leo is a certified lifeguard, right?”

 

Growing flustered, Leo ducked his head, staring at his lap. A soft ‘yes’ passed his lips, and suddenly, he regretted working at a pool during the summer. Why couldn’t he just have a normal job, like working at a supermarket?

 

Curiously, Leo glance to his right, checking how Guang Hong was doing. He too was staring at his lap, fingers clenching tightly around the hem of his sweater. The tips of his ears were bright red, just like a small patch of exposed neck. He hated Phichit. It was already hard to get over Guang Hong as it was- Phichit’s meddling made it all the more difficult. Today probably was going to be torture.

 

~*~

 

He was rambling. His nerves had gotten the better of him, which didn’t even surprise him. He was basically being pressed against Leo’s side, arms brushing and hips pressed flush. Now, he just admitted he was afraid of _drowning_ , while he was a capable swimmer. Though, drowning didn’t sound bad right now. Throw himself into the nearest body of water and embrace the sweet embrace of death. Yeah, that didn’t sound bad.

 

He hated his emotions. Hated them with a burning passion. They were terrible, downright terrible. Fate was just unfair. Why did he have to like Leo this much? Why did the music student make his heart stutter with each smile, his inside melt with each laugh? It was unfair. He never had felt this way before- not back in high school, not with other classmates. Leo was the only one that made him feel this... sickly in _love_. Moreover, Leo wasn’t even his soulmate- why was it so difficult to be just friends with Leo- why did he want more?

 

Hearing his name mentioned by Phichit, he snapped out of his inner turmoil of emotions. “Leo is a certified lifeguard, right?”

 

Guang Hong knew that the ‘right’ was aimed at Leo, but that didn’t make things much better. Seung-gil was blunt about Leo and his’ undeniable chemistry- Phichit, on the other hand, was rather subtle. It was frustrating because Phichit _knew_ what he was saying, something Seung-gil didn’t always know.

 

Clutching his sweater, Guang Hong stared at his lap, face on fire. He knew this shouldn’t be affecting him like this- but it did, and he hated it- hated how easy it was to fall in love with Leo- even if they weren’t meant for each other.

 

Guang Hong flinched when cold fingers brushed against his wrist. Moving his head a little, he looked to his right, meeting Seung-gil’s gaze. The Korean’s face was mainly blank, but there was a faint trace of reassurance. It would be fine- tonight he would meet him, and he finally could stop second-guessing- hoping that Leo was his soulmate.

 

“Thanks,” he muttered, earning him a confused look from both Phichit and Leo, but it did get the message across.

 

~*~

 

The moment the heavy smell of chlorine and the suffocating heat had hit their faces, the tension had left the air. It wasn’t busy- something they all had been happy about, though none of them had expected less. Currently, swimming was the last thing on people their minds. There were plenty of ice rinks in the area and as it was late January, going out ice-skating was much better fitting than going to the pool.

 

It honestly had been a blast. With plenty of space, they soon started a series of games- or the ‘Water Olympics’ Phichit had called. They started out playing Keep Away, which was quite the success until the beach ball had hit another visitor, who had given them a nasty glare. Eventually, the victory had been granted to Phichit, who was an absolute beast and managed to snatch the ball mid-air multiple times, something Guang Hong couldn’t archive with his short status. Nor that Seung-gil or Yuuri stood a chance, their physical capabilities were downright sad.

 

Then it was a game of tag, which honestly was even worse then Keep Away- as both Phichit and Guang Hong merciless pounded upon their preys, which resulted in a lot of bruises. All in all- Seung-gil had been proclaimed the winner of their game of tag. His dislike for physical contact seemed to come in handy, as he was very swift in dodging people, getting out of their reach within seconds

 

They had finished up with a game of conquering the mats- that was won by Yuuri. He alone was kind enough to win them a few mats, which were stacked together to make one big, chunky, rough-texture mat that would hold the weight of five adults. Their fun, however, had ended when some angry parents commented that they _stole_ the mats from the kids, which definitely wasn’t true. Nevertheless, they had to give up their floaty piece of foam. The timing hadn’t been bad per se- as dinner-time was just around the corner and none of them had bothered to eat at all since breakfast.

 

“So, this is everything?” Guang Hong had summed up the order one of them had noted down.

 

Recalling hearing his own orders- mainly just fries with some snacks, Leo hummed in agreement. The others did too, and Guang Hong handed the list to Phichit, putting away the pen.

 

“So, who’s willing to join me?” Phichit was bouncing on the balls of his feet, flip-flops laying somewhere forgotten under their stolen table.

 

Yuuri looked absolutely spend, nodding off in his chair, a fluffy towel wrapped around his shoulder. Seung-gil was torn- it looked like he wanted to say yes- but his overall social awkwardness gotten the better of him. Eventually, Leo volunteered, using the opportunity to spend some time away from Guang Hong. It hadn’t been an issue when they had been busy fooling around in the pool, but once they had settled down, drained of any energy and eyes itchy from the amount of chlorine, his friend’s presence was very notable.

 

“Thanks for tagging along,” Phichit mumbled, obviously drained from the long day of swimming. “I definitely can’t carry all of the orders- the amount of food on the list is insane.”

 

Taking the list, Leo let his eyes wander over it. He had heard Guang Hong summing it up- but in his tired state, not everything had registered. The list was indeed long, with so much fries that Leo started to question if they were getting dinner for ten instead of five. However, this wasn’t what caught his attention- it was the colour that was confusing him.

 

“Why did we use a red pen?” Leo wondered aloud, staring at the handwriting. Looking at it again, it started to look very familiar.

 

Phichit shrugged, not sharing Leo’s confusion. “Be happy Guang Hong already had a pen with him- not all of us are this prepared, not even Yuuri had bothered to bring along a pen.”

 

He started at the red letters again, and suddenly he knew. Shell-shocked, he stopped walking, looking awfully lost.

 

The writing was the same as his soulmate’s writing. The letters were the same- the curly s, the use of a capital letter r while it was supposed to be a lower case r. It was exactly the same. Also, his soulmate _always_ used a red coloured pen to write to him- he was used to it.

 

“Leo,” Phichit’s worried voice was only a distant echo amongst the flurry that was his thoughts.

 

His name was mentioned once again, and a hand was placed on his shoulder, shaking him out his dazed phase. “Leo, you’re okay?” Phichit seriously sounded concern.

 

“No,” was Leo’s first response. Taking a second to think- he realized he actually was perfectly fine. Even better, he felt amazing. Tonight he would not just meet his soulmate- he would see Guang Hong again, sitting in the seat opposite of him, probably being as nervous and as excited as Leo was.

 

“On second thought, I’m all right,” he couldn’t contain his smile. “Unless this isn’t Guang Hong’s handwriting?”

 

He hadn’t thought about it. He was sure that Guang Hong had been the one writing everything down- but he had been spacing out a lot- the heat definitely had gotten the better of him.

 

Phichit looked confused, but he nodded. “Yes, it is? I mean, he was the one who wrote it down.”

 

“It’s the same, the handwriting, I mean,” Leo explained. “The same as my soulmate’s handwriting.”

 

His friend’s reaction, however, wasn’t what he expected. He had expected Phichit to freak out, being giggly and congratulating him until the end of time. However, Phichit looked relieved, and a slightly smug. As if he already knew...

 

“You knew?” Leo asked in disbelief. Phichit’s smirk was enough confirmation that yes- Phichit had known.

 

“Of course I did,” Phichit chirped. “We all knew, Seung-gil, Yuuri and I. I mean, it was pretty obvious from the beginning, the drawings on your arm and Guang Hong’s art was exactly the same, not to mention the attraction between the two of you.”

 

The last statement left him confused. What had the attraction between him and Guang Hong to do with the fact they were soulmates? “The attraction?” he eventually questioned, eyeing Phichit with confusion.

 

“You really don’t know?” Phichit both looked and sounded surprised. “It’s known that soulmates are attracted to one another, even without them knowing that they’re each other’s soulmate. I mean, do you remember what I told you about Seung-gil and me?”

 

Letting the realization sink in, Leo nodded. He remembers the story Phichit was referring. “There was a pull, right?” Leo said slowly. “Somehow, amongst all the medical students, you were attracted to him, right? “

 

“Yup,” Phichit chimed, a certain look of nostalgic crossing his features. “I didn’t know he was my soulmate- but I wanted to get to know him. He seemed interesting- and he was pretty handsome.”

 

Leo snorted, slowly coming to terms with the reality. Of course, he still could be wrong, but it was hard to look past the facts. Guang Hong was most definitely his soulmate- which meant that soon, they finally could act upon their attraction and go out- hold hands, kiss...

 

“You’re turning red,” Phichit cooed, poking his cheek. “And while I love this conversation- I’ve been dying to talk about this- I think we should get our food. I’m starving, you’re probably pretty hungry, and I think Yuuri could eat a horse.”

 

Briefly, Leo wanted to push the list back in Phichit’s hands, return to the table and sweep Guang Hong of his feet, literally. Preferably there was kissing involved- though that seemed too soon. After considering his options briefly, Leo decided that there was no need for that. He would see Guang Hong tonight and then, they could sort everything out. The suffocating air of the swimming pool probably wouldn’t help at all when figuring things out.

 

“You’re right, I’m pretty hungry,” Leo mumbled, offering Phichit a grateful smile. His smile was returned by a look that screamed ‘you’re welcome’, and they once again left, heading to the food court to order some dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news, the chapter count is bumped up to 7. I'm not sure _how_ I'll end this story, but I won't leave till they have their kiss (≧∇≦*)
> 
> It has been a while since I spend time in a pool, so I hope I didn't butcher up too many things. (I was struggling with a few terms here and there because language barriers are a thing.)I hope the editing is a tad better this time, at least it wasn't as rushed as before. Per usual, thank you so much for the comments and kudos, it's heartwarming to see how many people are enjoying this! I hope this chapter didn't disappoint!
> 
>  **Song lyrics used in the title:** At the Beginning - Anastasia


	6. ...At the beginning, with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now AO3 finally works again, I'll present you, chapter six. Enjoy the 'final'. Don't worry, this is _not_ a 1 April fool.

Standing in front of a charming café. Guang Hong realised how ignorant, how innocent he had been in the past. Being nervous when talking to his soulmate for the first time? Completely unnecessary. Nervous to head to America and stay there for at least four years. That was nothing compared to this. Compared to finally meeting your soulmate.

 

You always could break contact with your soulmate if the two of you didn’t fit together. If America hadn’t been what he had expected, he could return back home. There was no backing down from here. Today, Guang Hong would learn who is his other half is, who is his soulmate is. There is no turning back from there. He couldn’t wipe his memory. He couldn’t ignore the image of somebodies face imprinted in his mind. In life, you change a lot of things, but your soulmate was one of the few exceptions.

 

Collecting his nerves, Guang Hong entered the café, the cold winter air immediately being replaced with a subtle, comfortable heat. The café wasn’t exactly big, but it looked very cosy and inviting. The staff mainly consisted out of college students, as the café was located closely to several dorm-room-complexions, including Guang Hong’s, Phichit’s and Leo’s dorm-room-complexion.

 

Shaking with nerves, he cursed himself for not taking more time, Guang Hong walked up to the reception.

 

Behind the wooden counter stood a young, pretty looking woman. She has long, black hair and soft purple eyes. Her smile was kind and inviting, something he was happy about. If there had been some kind of grumpy, middle-aged manning the reception, Guang Hong probably would have bolted, both nerves and fear getting the better of him.

 

“You’re here for a first meeting?” the woman asked kindly, probably noticing Guang Hong’s nervous jitters.

 

Flushing red, Guang Hong nodded furiously. “Yes, but it’s an anonymous date- I don’t know his name and-” Guang Hong couldn’t make any sense of his word-vomit. “Mila- he said I should ask for Mila.”

 

The woman, whose name was Sara according to her nametag, blinked in surprise. Her comforting smile faded to a surprised one. Maybe Mila didn’t work there anymore, or if he was asking for Mila, it meant trouble. Why hadn’t he just asked his soulmate for his name- that would’ve made things so much easier.

 

“Mila you say,” a kind, almost tender smile crossed Sara’s features. “Then I know which table is yours- I’ll call Mila if you have a second?”

 

Nodding nervously, Guang Hong watched Sara picking up some kind of walkie-talkie, punched in several numbers and waited for it to dial. Honestly, it was more like an oversized phone than anything else.

 

The conversation between Sara and Mila was brief. Guang Hong managed to catch a few words here and there, but nothing that peaked his interest. By now he had figured that Mila and his soulmate knew each other in one way or another. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have urged Guang Hong to ask for Mila. And, noting Sara’s reaction, she too knew who his soulmate. It was reassuring, to see that his soulmate actually knew people- college people. It made the likelihood of him being some kind of creep much slimmer.

 

Putting away the phone, Sara offered him a brilliant smile, her eyes alive with mirth. “Mila will be here in a few,” she said excitedly.

 

Her excitement didn’t help him much. Actually, it made him even more nervous. What if he wasn’t good enough for his soulmate? He wasn’t exactly unique, not like his friends, nor did he had many redeeming qualities, not matter what Yuuri said. Sara’s expression wavered slightly, probably noticing his nerves. Eventually, she settled for a softer, more tender expression.

 

“There is no need to be nervous,” she said soothingly, offering him a gentle smile. “I know your soulmate- he’s sweet, kind and he probably would worship the ground you walk on.”

 

His nerves were replaced by embarrassment. He was sure he looked mortified, his face set aflame. “Worship what?” he asked, nerves making his voice shake.

 

Sara shrugged, a somewhat mischievous glint in her eyes. “I might have been exaggerating,” she admitted nonchalantly. “But I doubt he would be disappointed if that’s what you think. And if he’s, well,” a more serious, grim expression painted Sara’s face. Guang Hong realised the woman could be very, _very_ intimidating if she wanted to be. “He’ll regret it.”

 

He was saved by Mila, who basically came bouncing up to them. At least, Guang Hong assumed it was Mila. The woman looked a few years younger than Sara, more his and Leo’s age. She had bright-red hair and blazing blue eyes which were bright with joy and excitement.

 

“You called me?” Mila asked, winking at Sara.

 

Sara took the flirting with strides, a more subtle, yet equally expressive smile, painted her face with joy. “I did, he asked for you, orders from his soulmate.”

 

Mila gave him a look-over before nodding approvingly. “He’s one hell of a lucky guy, don’t you think Sara? This one is definitely a keeper,” while Sara hummed approvingly, Guang Hong felt his face heat up even more. It felt like he was being judged by his soulmate’s parents, not his friends- or friend. He wasn’t exactly sure about Sara.

 

Nervously checking his phone, Guang Hong noticed he had less than five minutes left before his soulmate would arrive. It'd be nice if the two ladies would finally bring him to his table, only to give him something to do.

 

“It’s nearly time already, isn’t it?” while stating the obvious, Mila pulled out her phone from what seemed nowhere and checked the time. “Yup,” the redhead mumbled, making a popping noise when pronouncing the p. “I’ll take him from here- make sure _he_ doesn’t make a fool of himself.”

 

‘He’, obviously, references to his soulmate, which was somewhat reassuring. At least by the sound of it, it seemed like his soulmate was equally as nervous as he was.

 

Guang Hong was being tugged away by Mila and into the café. It wasn’t exactly busy, which wasn’t exactly surprising. The café was known for being a soulmate café, a safe place to meet one's soulmate. But next to first-timers, the café didn’t had many visitors.

 

The café was designed to make the first-time meeting experience as comfortable as possible. If things went wrong, the staff would separate them in one way of another- this even involved calling the police if things were really, _really_ bad. Guang Hong hoped he wouldn’t hear the blaring of sirens or the flickering of light this evening.

 

Without much protest, Guang Hong let himself being pushed down into a booth. He hadn’t heard a word Mila had babbled, but the redhead didn’t seem to be discouraged by that.

 

“Okay, first question, how many fingers am I holding up?” Guang Hong blinked as Mila nearly shoved two fingers into his face.

 

“Two?” he answered, voice shaking with nerves.

 

Mila nodded approvingly. “Okay, second question, do you feel sick?”

 

He did. Though it mainly were the nerves- he thankfully didn’t felt the need to hurl. “A little,” he admitted.

 

“Third question, do you feel like hurling?” Mila looked relieved when he shook his head.

 

“Last question,” Mila held up four fingers, counting the number of questions. “What colour?”

 

Guang Hong blinked, not getting Mila’s question. What did she mean, with ‘what colour?’

 

Thankfully, Mila caught up to his confusion. “We colour-co-ordinate couples, makes it easier for us to identify which person is with which person.”

 

Vaguely recalling something like that, Guang Hong decided to settle down on his lucky colour. “Red please?”

 

Mila nodded approvingly and left, leaving Guang Hong alone in his booth. Within a few minutes, his soulmate would be sitting opposite of him, introducing himself to Guang Hong. It was almost surreal. Back in China, Guang Hong had never expected to meet his soulmate, he blamed the long distant between them for that. But now, he’s sitting in a soulmate café, waiting for his soulmate to show up and probably rock his world.

 

He basically jumped when Mila returned, nerves punching out the air in his lungs.

 

“Give me your arm,” though confused by her request, Guang Hong stuck out his right arm, nearly hitting Mila.

 

A red-coloured ribbon was tied around his wrist. It caused for a great contrast, the paleness of his skin to the brightness of the fabric.

 

“All settled,” Mila said proudly, inspecting her work. “Now all we’ve to do is wait. Sara will bring your soulmate, so you don’t have to worry about that,” she patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Could I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Alcohol?”

 

Guang Hong snorted by Mila’s last offer, especially as Mila looked serious. “I’m underage,” Guang Hong stated plainly. He was still at least a year off being twenty-one. “But some herbal tea would do miracles if you’ve that for offer.”

 

“We have,” Mila crooned. “One herbal tea coming up. If it get’s too much, try to haul in a staff member. We all know what to do in a sticky situation, though I doubt there will be any issues.”

 

Mila offered him the same wink she had thrown Sara’s way not too long ago and left the dining area of the café. The food and drinks were probably being prepared in the back, away from prying eyes.

 

Swallowing nervously, Guang Hong knew all he could do was wait and hope for the best. He could no longer run or hide, but maybe that was a good thing. Sooner or later, they would meet. If things wouldn’t work out, they could move along and find someone else. If things would work out, they could start out decently young, enjoying being part of each other’s life.

 

~*~

 

He had expected knowing it was Guang Hong would’ve made things easier. It clearly hadn’t. In fact, Leo believed he was even more nervous than before. Things could only go down from there as Guang Hong would be the best thing that would happen to him. It would be heart breaking to see someone else sitting his booth.

 

Holding the bouquet of flowers tightly between his hands, Leo pushed open the door of the café with his shoulder, embracing the warmth. Immediately, he spotted Sara at the reception. A few seconds later, the raven-haired woman had spotted him, her face brightening immediately.

 

“You’re here,”  she chimed, smiling brightly. “I almost expected you to bail out of meeting him.”

 

Leo snorted, slightly hurt by the little faith his friend had in him. Though, to be fair, Leo had considered bolting a handful of times. “I couldn’t ditch him- he’s probably peeing his pants from the nerves by now.”

 

Sara quirked an eyebrow in confusion. “How would you know?” she asked curiously, resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. “You don’t know who he is, right?”

 

Shaking his head, Leo felt his heart leap with happiness. “I know who it is,” he explained. “I figured it out who it is.”

 

“Oh, that’s great, so, who’s it,” Leo knew by the tone of Sara’s voice that she didn’t believe him.

 

The words felt foreign to his mind, yet they also felt right. “Guang Hong- I feel so stupid, I should’ve recognised his handwriting immediately yet...”

 

Yet it took him almost half a year to realise his crush was also his soulmate.

 

“Are you serious?” Leo nodded furiously. Yes, he was serious.

 

Sara was basically beaming, eyes bright with happiness. “You weren’t kidding that he’s cute- he’s so adorable,” Sara cooed. “Anyway, you shouldn’t leave him hanging, the poor guy was so nervous- it's a near miracle he hasn’t either passed out of hurled yet.”

 

Nerves dropped down his stomach like he just had swallowed a few bricks. “Sure,” he croaked, his voice trembling slightly. “Give me my ribbon, and I’ll face him- hopefully.”

 

Leo was very grateful that Sara didn’t ask further. She requested his arm, which he offered her. A minute later or so, a bright red ribbon was tied around his left wrist. It was cute, as red wasn’t even Guang Hong’s favourite colour. It always had been blue for some reason, sky-blue. But Leo had dug enough through Chinese customs and culture to realise that red was the colour of luck. It all seemed very fitting.

 

“No roses?” Leo jumped as Mila appeared out of nowhere, obviously inspecting the bouquet of flowers he had brought along.

 

“No roses,” Leo confirmed. “Peonies.”

 

He knew that Sara and Mila shared a confused look- as peonies weren’t exactly your typical ‘first-date’ material, at least not in western culture. He hoped that it was in Chinese culture and that his extensive research didn’t fail him.

 

“Well, whatever, you should get going, flower boy,” Sara urged, taking Leo along with her into the dining area. “You shouldn’t let him wait much longer than necessary- or otherwise you’re on cleaning duty.”

 

“I don’t even work here,” he protested, shoving Sara slightly playfully. Their playful banner, however, halted the moment Leo caught a glimpse of red.

 

Guang Hong was seated in a booth, scrolling through his phone while nervously tapping a tuneless rhythm on the table. A bright red ribbon was tied around his wrist, indicating that he _was_ indeed Leo’s date. Swallowing nervously, Leo considered bolting out. Though, thankfully, Sara realised what was going on in Leo’s nerve-driven mind and pushed him forward, muttering a ‘got get him, tiger,’ before leaving him alone to deal with his ridiculous crush turned soulmate called Guang Hong.

 

~*~

 

Guang Hong nearly jumped when a bouquet of flowers was shoved into his face. “For you,” followed, the man’s voice strangely familiar.

 

Realising that his soulmate had turned up after all, Guang Hong carefully closed his hands around the tied-together sterns of the bouquet, his fingers brushing the handing hands of his soulmate. Prying the flowers away, Guang Hong lowered the bouquet to meet his soulmate face to face.

 

Dark brown eyes adorned with golden specks met his gaze, a warm face, familiar bushy eyebrows and a nervous smile he wasn’t exactly familiar with. He had never seen Leo look nervous, expect from now apparently.

 

“You’re,” Guang Hong said slowly, unable to believe what his eyes were seeing. “My soulmate?”

 

Leo nodded, biting his bottom lip and running his left hand through his hair. A red ribbon was tied around his left wrist. For the first time, Guang Hong realised Leo was left-handed, just like his soulmate. How could’ve been so blind?

 

“At least, I think so,” Leo admitted, sliding into the booth opposite of him. Immediately, he felt less nervous. Leo was familiar, a familiar face, a familiar voice, a familiar smile. Secondly, Leo looked like he was about to pass out, probably as nervous as Guang Hong had felt a few minutes ago.

 

Smiling warmly, Guang Hong gave the bouquet of flowers a proper look. He had in all honestly expected roses. They weren’t roses. He was greeted with a bouquet of bright red peonies, the same red colour as the ones his parents kept in their garden, the same colour as the ones who had filled many pages of his sketchbook.

 

“Do you like them?” Leo’s voice was shaking badly, eyes big with worry. “I wasn’t sure- as each source was different but-”

 

“I love them,” he interrupted Leo, offering his friend, his _soulmate_ , a gently smile. “Thanks.”

 

In with that, Leo grew lax, slumping into the booth, looking relieved. “Thank heavens,” the brunet mumbled, rubbing his neck out of habit. “The moment I bought them, I was regretting it- I thought I should’ve bought roses instead. Roses are always a safe option.”

 

Not sure exactly what to do, Guang Hong fumbled with a teaspoon, trying to sort out his thoughts. They still had to confirm it- confirm that they were soulmates. He believed Leo, wished to believe Leo. He would be the happiest man alive if Leo were his soulmate. But he wouldn’t know till they had tried it- and there was only one way to try.

 

“Do you want to, well...” Guang Hong bit his bottom lip nervously. “Try, see for ourselves, knowing for sure?”

 

Relief washed over him when Leo nodded, picking up one of the few pens on the table. “I would say, let’s get over with it. The sooner we know, the better.”

 

Following Leo’s example, Guang Hong picked up a pen. His hand was shaking. Obviously, he probably wouldn’t even be able to write a proper word. Though, this time it wouldn’t matter if it was readable or not, as long as the ink on his skin matched Leo’s.

 

“What would you do if we were soulmates?” he blurted out, nerves getting the better of him. He wanted to know- know if Leo would be happy, or sad, or disappointed. It was almost like a reason to run away, stop with whatever foolish thing they were doing.

 

Leo’s gaze softened, the tenderness very unfamiliar for Guang Hong. “I would want to hold your hand, take you out on dates, being domestic as fuck, probably making our friends sick with the amount of domesticness between the two of us. I want us to become the cutest couple amongst my friends,” Leo’s flexed his fingers nervously. “I want to hug you, kiss you, kiss every freckle on your face, snuggle with you and hold you when we sleep. I want to wake up to you every morning, and I want to fall asleep next to you every day. In the future, I want to make love to you, I want you to meet my family, I want to meet your family. I will drop down on one knee for you, kiss you at the alter when I say my ‘yes’. I want to grow old with you, maybe adopt a few kids, becoming the cool uncles with you and -”

 

Guang Hong cursed himself as tears started to stream down his face. His sobs had made Leo stop his rambling, probably alarmed by the sudden, distressed noise.

 

“Did I say something wrong?” Leo sounded as distressed as he looked.

 

Sniffing softly, Guang Hong wiped away the tears, forcing a thin smile on his face. “Save that speech for when you propose, you dummy,” he hiccupped, his cheeks burning with embarrassment and fondness.

 

There was this silence agreement between them. They knew that they could no longer beat around the bush with this. Tonight was the night of the truth, whenever it would result in heartbreak or happiness for the rest of their lifetimes.

 

Guang Hong jotted down a shaky ‘Hello’ and waited, waited for a response, waiting for the ink to appear on Leo’s arm. His heart leapt when the same words were written on Leo’s arm, identical. Probably equally nervous as Guang Hong, Leo wrote ‘Hello?’ on his arm, waiting for it to appear on Guang Hong’s arm.

 

Slowly, ink formed one single word on his right. After what felt like an entirety, a simple ‘Hello?’ was written on his arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters to go, probably. This depends on how many ideas will strike me during the course of two weeks. 
> 
> Per usual, the feedback and kudos had been amazing. I'm very happy people are enjoying this, and I hope this didn't disappoint. I hope the editing isn't too sloppy, as I wrote this in like 3 hours. (Trying to hit the 50k this month/committing writers suicide, because college.)


	7. Can anybody find me somebody to love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, it almost has been three weeks since I updated this fic. My apologies- Leoji week has physically and mentally killed me. 
> 
> But we're back in business boys and the chapter is over 6k worth of fluff and relationship development. There isn't that much plot anymore, but I hope it is still enjoyable to read. I almost had cut it in two, but as this chapter is already so late, I decided to keep it long.

Crawling out of bed, making sure that he would let Guang Hong sleep, Leo tip-toed out of his bedroom. If it hadn’t been necessary, he would have stayed in bed, cuddling with Guang Hong, but hunger didn’t wait. The only things he hoped was that one, Emil wasn’t awake, as he wasn’t ready to be questioned about how his date went. And secondly, that Guang Hong wouldn’t wake up in panic- as Leo was nowhere in sight. Though, if one of those things must happen, Leo prayed it was the latter, he _really_ wasn’t in the mood to talk with Emil- he himself was still processing everything, it was still too surreal- almost too good to be true. Only the idea that Guang Hong of all people was his other half made his heart flutter. Now it wasn’t just an idea anymore- it was reality. An unbelievable reality.

 

Slipping out of his room, Leo groaned as he spotted Emil sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. Seconds after groaning, Emil looked up, gaze moving to Leo who still stood in the doorway.

 

“Morning,” Emil chimed, a bright smile on his face. For whatever reason, Emil was a morning person- something he couldn’t say about himself.

 

Blinking sleepily- he _actually_ was a bit tired, he should’ve just stayed in bed and fall back asleep. But no- hunger. Why did they need food anyway? Why couldn’t they just live on sunglight? “Morning too,” Leo mumbled, carefully closing his bedroom door behind him. Maybe Emil had forgotten, and Leo’s sorry ass would be safe, for now.

 

Grabbing some cereal from the cupboards, Leo poured milk into a bowl and added the cereal without much of a thought.

 

“You’re okay? You usually are the ‘cereal first and milk second’ kind of person,” Emil pointed out, eyebrows slightly raised in confusion and faint worry.

 

Staring at his bowl in confusion, Leo realised that he indeed had messed up preparing cereal. As far for trying to being subtle and acting like nothing happened. “I’m all right,” he muttered, plopping down on a chair. “Just tired- arrived home late.”

 

Emil clapped his hands together in happiness, eyes lighting up in joy. “Now you mention it,” he chimed. “How was your date? What was he like?”

 

Yeah, as far for being subtle. Knowing there was no way out of the conversation- also Emil had all the right to know after Leo ranting about his soulmate one too many times- Leo settled down with telling Emil the truth. “That was amazing,” he said, his lips curling up into a fond smile. “We talked till closing-time, Mila was even willing to drive us to my place because the buses were out of commission for the rest of the night.”

 

“That’s amazing- so, who is it? I would love to meet him someday- it seems that he didn’t disappoint,” a flush crawled up Leo’s neck as Emil pointed out Leo’s content and genuinely happy expression.

 

Smiling shyly, Leo stirred his cereal, not having much appetite left after all. “It was Guang Hong,” he almost whispered, afraid that this small miracle would dissolve the moment he acknowledged it.

 

Emil blinked owlish, taking a while for the truth settling in. “You’re kidding, right?” he asked, voice thick with disbelief. Leo couldn’t blame him, he still struggled with believing the truth himself.

 

“I think I’m kidding myself,” Leo admitted, eyes darting to his bedroom door. “But as I woke up with him by my side and not anyone else- I doubt it was just a dream.”

 

“Wait, what!” Emil exclaimed, eyes growing comically big. “You _slept_ with Guang Hong?”

 

Immediately, Leo’s face burned up. “No- not _slept_. We were tired and well... like I said before, Mila dropped us off at my place, as she lives here too. Guang Hong was going to stay here anyway, and as we’re soulmates and such, I decided that sharing a bed wouldn’t be so bad- at least better than the couch.”

 

Leo knew he liked Emil as a roommate and friend. The student was kind-hearted, always chipper and an overall good friend. Though, sometimes, he seemed to pick up ‘proud older brother’ tendencies, something Yuuri also had a habit of, only in a motherly way.

 

Emil let out a cooing noise- as if he saw some kind of cute animal. “That’s so sweet,” the student whispered, a brilliant smile on his face. “So, the two of you’re dating now?”

 

Shrugging, Leo threw his arms up, accidentally launching a bit of cereal in the air. “Not sure,” he admitted. “We have yet to establish that- I wish to, but...”

 

“I wouldn’t mind, you know,” Leo let out a rather unmanly scream as he snapped his gaze to his bedroom door, probably pulling a muscle.

 

Guang Hong was leaning in the doorway, looking like he just had woken up. Hair was a birds nest, Leo’s clothes too loose on his frame- not that Leo complained- and eyes still bleary. But the shy blush on his face was unmistakable, just like his small, cute smile that made his eyes crinkle.

 

“For how long are you awake?” Leo asked, his voice higher pitched that he wanted. He probably would be teased miserably by Emil, who, if he had been a lesser person, could have an entire box of blackmail on Leo if he wanted.

 

Guang Hong shrugged, pushing his hair out of his face. “Not for long, I woke up, you weren’t there, and I was hungry, and as I know Emil, I doubted he would mind me raiding your fridge.”

 

Emil chuckled, Guang Hong looked indifferent, probably still waking up, and Leo felt like he was ready to explode. Maybe Guang Hong being his soulmate wasn’t the best thing after all- he probably would have an early death if this kept up.

 

“So-um...” Leo stuttered, face now most definitely on fire. “Do you want to go out with me, like boyfriend and boyfriend?”

 

It was clear as day that Guang Hong didn’t saw that coming. The brunet blinked once, twice before growing red in the face, pupils growing fat. “Are you serious?” he squeaked, lips trembling slightly.

 

Panicked, Leo blurted out the first thing that came up in his mind, which thankfully wasn’t that bad. “Only if you want to!”

 

Guang Hong’s shocked expression faltered, replaced by a shy smile and eyes filled with hope. “I would love to.”

 

~*~

 

It was already well into the evening when Guang Hong finally returned to his own dorm room. Back at Leo’s, they mainly have been lounging in front of the tv, snuggling up close to one-another and annoying the living hell out of Michele. Michele was a friend of Emil, an acquaintance of Leo due to his friendship with Sara, who was his twin, and a familiar face for Guang Hong, as Michele was also an art student, though he was a few years Guang Hong’s senior.

 

Slipping into the apartment, Guang Hong prayed he wouldn’t have to face Seung-gil. While Seung-gil wouldn’t tease him, that would be Phichit’s job, Seung-gil certainly would question him about his date.

 

“Evening,” came Seung-gil’s faint voice. Guang Hong was unsurprised to see his roommate nestled on the couch, nose burrowed deep in a book- a school book by the looks of it. How Seung-gil managed to do that was beyond him.

 

“Evening,” Guang Hong returned, kicking off his shoes. “How was the anniversary?”

 

Seung-gil remained quiet, but the blush was undeniable. So they had _done_ the nasty- or at least he assumed. On the other hand, Seung-gil already got flustered when Phichit _cuddled_ with him. “It was all right,” Seung-gil eventually settled down on, face hidden behind his book. “How was your stay at Leo’s?”

 

Without much thinking, Guang Hong mumbled a ‘fine’, plopping down on the lone chair in the living room. After a few seconds, his own answer started to sink in. “Wait- how do you know I was at Leo’s?” he asked in utter confusion, staring at his roommate with furrowed eyebrows.

 

“Easy- Leo’s your soulmate, right?” Seung-gil pointed out, not evening bothering to look up.

 

Blinking, now most definitely confused, Guang Hong couldn’t do anything else then wonder. “How do you know? I’m sure I haven’t told anyone!” his voice cracked at the end, a red flush painting his cheeks and ears red.

 

“I already knew,” Seung-gil answered carelessly, flipping a page as if they were talking about the weather. “All of us knew- except Leo, of course. It was so obvious- at least, for us. For starters, your drawing was the same as the one from Leo’s soulmate- at least the art style. Adding in the fact that you meet most requirements of being Leo’s soulmate, you’re Chinese, nineteen, moved to America to study art and have a male soulmate. How many people fit that criterion?”

 

After a short though, Guang Hong felt like Seung-gil just had summed up some kind of math equation he just had learned. And, the sad thing about it, it also made some sense. While plenty of Americans fitted the criteria Guang Hong’s soulmate had, there weren’t _that_ many people who matched Leo’s criteria. But, on the other hand, how could he have known what Leo’s soulmate was like- Leo never talked about them- him.

 

“Wait a second...” an ice-cold realisation struck Guang Hong. “You knew all along and didn’t tell me!” he screeched, chucking a pillow at Seung-gil’s head. All of his friends knew, but none had bothered to help out a friend in need.

 

Seung-gil grunted, flipping the bird his way before closing his book. “You could’ve asked,” he said coolly, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

 

“I could’ve... oh,” right, he had forgotten. If you wanted to know something from Seung-gil, you had to _ask_. And not just a vague question, no, it had to be a proper question or otherwise you would get a shitty answer, fitting with your shitty question.

 

“It doesn’t matter in the end,” Seung-gil mumbled, scrunching up his face. “Now you’re going to be even grosser than before- I swear, the moment Yuuri finds his soulmate I’m moving back home- I can’t handle all that grossly couple stuff.”

 

Guang Hong blinked owlishly, unable to understand Seung-gil. “But you’ve a soulmate yourself,” Guang Hong pointed out, staring at his roommate in confusion. “You two were the first ones who got all grossly and cuddly.”

 

A deadly glare was thrown his way, but by now, Guang Hong was far from fazed. “Because Phichit is like that doesn’t mean I’m,” he hissed, face growing rapidly red.

 

Groaning, Guang Hong wiggled around in the chair till he got in a comfortable position. “Wake me when you go to bed,” he muttered, closing his eyes. “I think I need some shut-eye.”

 

There was a short pause, followed up by a disgruntled snort. “You have a bed you know- go sleep in there.”

 

“That’s too far away,” Guang Hong mumbled, sinking further into the chair. He couldn’t wait for school- not. Tomorrow was going to be hell, especially considering he had neglected all his homework. But in the end, it was sort of worth it. After all, the weekend had resulted in him gaining a name to his soulmate and a boyfriend.

 

~*~

 

“I thought Phichit was the crazy one,” Leo mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. “I mean, this is crazy.”

 

Guang Hong looked up from doing stretched, eyes bright with mischief. “It’s not crazy,” the brunet chimed, sticking out his tongue childishly. “It’s just illegal- but there is no real art without bloodshed, tears and the chance of being arrested.”

 

“It’s most definitely crazy,” Leo confirmed, eyeing the fence with worry. “Can’t you just find another spot to watch the sunset- from like a rooftop or something?”

 

Leo didn’t expect that his weak plea would change Guang Hong’s mind, as the latter was stubborn. And, unsurprisingly, Guang Hong tied his backpack on back, puffing out evaporated air and started to climb the fence, ignoring the ‘forbidden entrance’ sign that was tied to the very same fence.

 

Not letting his boyfriend doing this alone, he was there for the long run, after all, Leo followed. Well, there was one good thing that came from this- he had a fantastic view of his boyfriend’s ass. Though that would be a sore consultation price when they got caught by the police, who probably had no issue whatsoever arresting them. His mother would _kill_ him if she ever found out he was arrested for _trespassing_ of all things illegal.

 

His muscles ached when he dropped down on the other side. A green landscape stretching all the way to the horizon, the sun had yet to start dipping below the horizon. Leo did wonder why exactly this was a restricted area, as Guang Hong had told him very little aside from that the spot was perfect for capturing the sunset and the landscape of the village, which was apparently his newest assignment.

 

“I’m surprised you decided to tag along after all,” Guang Hong pointed out, waiting for him a dozen feet up ahead. “I thought you would chicken out.”

 

Rolling his eyes at his boyfriend, Leo jogged for a bit to catch up. “I couldn’t let you being arrested on your own,” he said, grinning cheekily.

 

To his enjoyment, Leo saw Guang Hong grow flustered, ears growing bright red. “You’re unbelievable,” Guang Hong mumbled, his comeback lacking any bite.

 

Leo’s heart stuttered when a cold, slightly sweaty hand grabbed his own. Eyeing his boyfriend, Leo saw Guang Hong smiling shyly at the ground, face almost resembling a tomato. Yup, Guang Hong was going to bring him an early death- but honestly, he didn’t mind.

 

There was a soft tug, and Leo was being pulled along, Guang Hong marching up ahead, carefully avoiding any sprouting spring flowers. After a bit, the endless landscape seemed to change as an end came in sight. It was a cliff- a cliff with a torn railing, probably from a car accident as it looked like. However, after the brief moment of realisation why it was closed off, Leo took in the view.

 

The sun had yet to start setting, but Leo saw the appeal from the spot. The view stretched out over the entire village- he could spot his own dorm-room complex, Guang Hong’s, their school. There were many small dots on an endless map of buildings, greenery, roads and waters. Now he understood why Guang Hong wanted to be here- Phichit probably would kill to get a few pictures of this view, _especially_ during sunset.

 

“It’s beautiful,” Leo breathed, gently squeezing Guang Hong’s hand. “Now I understand why you wanted to be here- though I’m not bailing you out of holding.”

 

Guang Hong giggled, squeezing his hand back. “It would be difficult bailing me out of holding if you’re there with me,” he answered cheekily, dropping his bag on the ground.

 

While his boyfriend was putting together his set-up, Leo sat down on the grass, eyeing the view with some degree of content. It was almost like a date- a date they were already breaking the rules like some thugs. Leo was by no standards a model citizen, but trespassing wasn’t something he had ever expected to do. Well, this would’ve made for a very memorable date.

 

Leo blinked at the cityscape, his own thoughts catching up with him. Was this actually their first date? “Guang Hong?” Leo started, and Guang Hong hummed in response. “Is this our first date?”

 

Guang Hong made a strangled noise, followed by a slew of curse words when he dropped his supplies on the ground. “Is this a date?” Guang Hong squeaked, struggling to pick up his supplies while avoiding eye-contact.

 

“I think so,” Leo said, shrugging slightly. It sounded like a date. “I mean, a date is just a get together between two people with romantic interest towards each other, I think...” a few ticks passed and Leo realised he sounded an awful lot like Seung-gil.

 

There was a long pause before Guang Hong replied. “Then it’s a date, I guess,” the brunet fumbled with a pencil, shy embarrassment on his face.

 

Chuckling, Leo drew up his knees, propping his head onto them. “Well, at least it will be a very memorable first date to say the least, especially if we get caught by the police. How many people ended up in holding during their first date?”

 

“I think,” Guang Hong started, plopping down next to Leo. “That this number is surprisingly high.”

 

Scooting closer to Guang Hong, Leo grabbed the other’s hand. Smiling contently, Guang Hong pressed himself against Leo’s side, both waiting for the sun to set so Guang Hong could start his art project.

 

~*~

 

“And, how does it feel to be no longer a free man?” Phichit grinned, pointing a french fry Guang Hong’s way. “I mean- you have to sit out all the parties and miss all the cute people because you’ve a man back home.”

 

Guang Hong stared at his friend in disbelief. Phichit, parties and cute people? He might be wrong, he doesn’t know Phichit _that_ well, but he didn’t seem that kind of type. “Seriously, Phichit?” he asked in disbelief after swallowing his fast food. “I’m pretty sure Yuuri told me Seung-gil was your first love, and also, do you really like partying? You used to have a weekly game night during your first year of college.”

 

Phichit pouted and munching on another fry. “True,” he mumbled, sipping from his cup with soda. “Nonetheless, how does it feel, being together with Leo and all?”

 

“It’s... pretty much the same,” Guang Hong admitted. “Aside from the romantic stuff, of course,” he added.

 

Scrunching up his face, Phichit made a gagging noise. “Of course the two of you have to have a perfect romance, your first date must be very romantic- like going to a movie or out dinner.”

 

Choking on his own food, Guang Hong started to splutter and cough, trying to force the food out of his windpipe.

 

“Don’t you dare to die,” Phichit said, though he honestly sounded panicked. “I want to hear the juicy details.”

 

After a minute or so, Guang Hong had finally recovered from his near choking experience. Fast food was really dangerous after all. They should put the warning ‘choking hazard’ on it. “I can’t believe you think Leo and I had a romantic first date,” he muttered accusingly.

 

Phichit cocked his head, his eyebrows quirked in faint confusion. “Then what did you do on your first date, rob a bank?” a nervous chuckle followed and for a brief moment, Guang Hong expected Phichit actually to consider this.

 

“Nah,” Guang Hong said nonchalantly, grinning teasingly. “We just went trespassing.”

 

For a brief moment, Phichit had looked relieved. In that brief moment, he had dared to continue his lunch. That was a mistake. Hackling, catching attention from other visitors, Phichit slammed his fist into his chest, coughing up a lung. “Give me a warning next time,” he wheezed, eyes tearing up. “My innocent friends are just filthy criminals.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Guang Hong flicked a non-eatable fry at Phichit’s forehead. “Please- it was just trespassing. We weren’t caught, and it was for an art assignment, I had little to no choice.”

 

A horrorstruck expression made up the entirety of Phichit’s face. “I should switch majors,” he muttered, eyeing his food with scepticism. “My teacher doesn’t let me trespass for a project, I have to do it at my own risk.”

 

“Oh, my teacher didn’t give me permission either,” Guang Hong pointed out, munching on an oversalted fry. “But I just risked it, she loved the result though she knew that I had to trespass for that- she even gave me bonus points for the bravery.”

 

“My teacher scolded me and was willing to turn me in to the police,” Phichit said, voice surprisingly emotionless. Guang Hong had probably broken him.

 

For a while, Phichit kept just staring at his food, leaving Guang Hong to catch up with eating- even surpassing Phichit. “Are you finishing that,” Guang Hong asked, staring at his empty tray and Phichit’s semi-filled one. Phichit shrugged indifferently, and he took it as a ‘yes’. He wasn’t going to say no to free food.

 

“Hey, Guang Hong, do you think Seung-gil would tag along with me if I trespassed for a school project?”

 

Guang Hong was seriously surprised. He was still be amazed by his friend’s their ignorance. Didn’t they know Seung-gil? “You know that by now, I promised Seung-gil that he could sell my organs, _illegally_. I don’t think trespassing fazes him, at all.”

 

Phichit’s eyes lit up, and to his annoyance, Guang Hong’s greedy fingers were swatted away. “Of course!” he chimed, his voice as enthusiastic as ever. “Well, I know what to do for our next date- the two of you aren’t going to be the edgiest couple out of there- we’re going to kick your guys’ asses in that.”

 

While Phichit has his glorious moment of coming up with a ‘brilliant’ plan, Guang Hong managed to steal at least half of Phichit’s fries and two Chicken Nuggets. He didn’t even aim at being the edgiest couple, but if that motivated Phichit to go out more with Seung-gil, he wasn’t complaining. Because, admittedly, Guang Hong’s place was nicer than Leo’s place, as Emil was home a lot, often dragging along Michele, who was like his unofficial boyfriend or something? Their relationship was honestly up in the air. But once Seung-gil got out more, Guang Hong would have his place all to himself, and Leo.

 

~*~

 

“How can you be such a messy eater?” Leo mumbled, cleaning Guang Hong’s face with a napkin. “You get food everywhere- do you even try to eat properly?”

 

Leo didn’t mind Guang Hong being a messy eater. For starters, he loved seeing Guang Hong enjoying his food, never picky about whatever he ate. Secondly, he got the shameless excuse of cleaning his boyfriend’s face. And, at least, he could see Guang Hong pout adorable when Leo ‘complained’ about it, or pointed it out.

 

Huffing, Guang Hong threw him his trademark pout. “I try,” he muttered, swatting Leo’s hand away. “But it’s just hard- why do they add sauce to everything?”

 

To prove his point, Guang Hong lifted the fork with spaghetti. Tomato sauce dripped off the ends, pooling on his platter. “I mean, isn’t this a lot?”

 

“Babe, you’re the one who has no self-control,” Leo pointed out, gesturing to his own spaghetti which wasn’t drowning in tomato sauce. “You could also just take average amounts  like any normal human being.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Guang Hong huffed and slumped in his seat, staring at his tomato sauce and spaghetti creation. “It isn’t that much- I’ve had used more in the past.”

 

Leo mentally noted down that Guang Hong had a thing for tomato sauce. Maybe a fitting birthday present for next year- a bottle of tomato sauce. Yeah... thank Heavens that Guang Hong’s birthday was still light-years away.

 

“Whatever that makes you happy dear,” smiling teasingly, Leo watched as Guang Hong grew flustered. It seemed that his boyfriend had a thing for nicknames- preferably cheesy and cute ones.

 

Noticing Leo’s gaze, Guang Hong buried his face in his hands. “Could you stop that,” he asked in muffled annoyance. “Phichit has been teasingly me endlessly about your nicknames- he even calls me ‘Honeybuns’ nowadays.”

 

Oh right, Leo’s terrible timing. Emil was out for the weekend, crashing at Michele’s place, which meant that Leo had the place all to himself. So, he had invited Guang Hong. He, however, had forgotten that the weather had cleared up, which meant most of them were walking around in t-shirts. Without much of a thought, he had written his message on his arm- being soulmates had it’s uses- calling Guang Hong Honeybuns just to annoy him. It appeared that he had been Phichit at that time, who had noticed the new message immediately. Ever since then the nickname Honeybuns had been forbidden from any conversation between him and Guang Hong, which was a shame. It was a cute nickname.

 

“Well, it’s a cute nickname,” Leo pointed out, smiling at the fond memory. “But I’ll lay down on them if you want.”

 

Leo felt his heart flutter when Guang Hong smiled shyly, prodding his food with a certain hesitation. “I don’t mind them exactly, just-” a few seconds passed before Guang Hong looked up, eyes meeting each other. “Use them in private- not with our friends around.”

 

“Roger that,” Leo saluted, smiling brightly at a flustered Guang Hong. His boyfriend was absolutely precious.

 

~*~

 

“Hey, what are your guys planning for the summer?” Yuuri asked nonchalantly, causing Guang Hong to wake-up from his semi-nap.

 

Guang Hong rolled on his side, his cheek rubbed against the rough fabric of Leo’s jeans, but he just refused to move his head off Leo’s lap. He enjoyed the way Leo run his fingers through his hair too much.

 

“We’re going to South Korean,” Phichit chimed, pulling Seung-gil closer. “Meeting the family in law, finally.”

 

While Phichit’s excited face was interesting, nothing did beat Seung-gil’s flustered face, the shy smile on his face. Last year, Seung-gil had been introduced to Phichit’s family, as they lived in the states. Seung-gil’s family, on the other hand, used to live on the other side of the world in South Korea. It wasn’t just a one-hour car drive to get there. It involved money, money they had to save up to make the expensive trip.

 

Yuuri’s gaze wandered over to where he and Leo were sitting- or, where Leo was sitting, and Guang Hong was laying. “What about the two of you?” he questioned, face sincere.

 

“I’m going home, pick up my job at the local beach and try to pay off student loans,” Leo said indifferently.

 

Fingers gently brushed over his forehead, and Guang Hong sighed contently. Leo most definitely was going to be the death of him.

 

“I’m not sure yet,” Guang Hong admitted. He, at first, had planned to head home, but the costs were so high that his wallet had started to weep, so he had decided to stay in America for the summer. “I’ll be staying here, probably in the dorms- trip home is too expensive.”

 

Leo’s fingers froze, tips slightly touching his scalp. “Seriously, you’ll stay here in the dorms?” Leo asked in disbelief.

 

Guang Hong let out an indifferent noise, flailing his hands around a bit. “I’m not going broke because I _have_ to go home. I’ll live, I suppose.”

 

“Seung-gil stayed with me after our first year,” Yuuri said, offering Guang Hong a sympathetic smile. “Phichit was going out of the country so he had to stay somewhere- but I’m afraid I can’t help you this year- I’m out of the country this year too.”

 

This raised several questions amongst the friends, as none had heard about Yuuri’s plans before. Guang Hong already had picked up that Seung-gil would go home together with Phichit and Leo already had mentioned that he just would go home and work. But Yuuri hadn’t mentioned anything.

 

“Wait, where are you going?” Phichit asked. “You _never_ have left America- don’t tell you’re going to Canada, are you?”

 

Yuuri snorted and shook his head. “No, I-” there was a nervous smile on Yuuri’s face. “I’m going to Russia, to meet him.”

 

To meet ‘him’ was fairly obvious by the way Yuuri gestured to his doodles-covered arms. It was, however, still a surprise as Yuuri hadn’t dropped any hints about his plans.

 

“That’s great,” Leo said, sounding genuinely happy. “So, you have saved up enough money?”

 

“Yeah,” Yuuri mumbled, a shy blush on his cheeks. “Took me a while, but the work in the coffee café did wonders to my bank balance. Still have an angry red number that’s my student loans, but I at least have enough money to fly to Russia and back.”

 

While Phichit was interrogating Yuuri about his plans to go to Russia, Guang Hong rolled back, eyes staring up at Leo’s face. “You’re okay?” he questioned, noticing his boyfriend’s worried look.

 

For a brief moment, Leo’s eyes flickered, and Guang Hong felt his heart stutter. A kiss would be very do-able in this position- though, to be fair, by now Guang Hong was desperate enough to kiss Leo in any way possible, even if it was an impossible Spiderman kiss.

 

“I’m all right,” Leo mumbled, thumb gently rubbing Guang Hong’s jaw. “It’s just... won’t it get lonely?”

 

Putting on his brave face, Guang Hong offered Leo a small smile. “I don’t have much choice, do I? I’ll enjoy myself- plus we’ll stay in touch anyway, even if you don’t a phone around due to the extensive amount of water you’ve to work with.”

 

Cheekily, Guang Hong nudged Leo’s arm, especially the drawing he had made the morning out of sheer boredom. “So, you don’t have to worry,” he assured Leo, smiling a bit brighter.

 

Leo still looked conflicted, but let the subject slide for a brief moment. After nearly dozing off, _again_ , Leo pinched his cheeks, causing him to squeak.

 

“Hey, why was that-”

 

“Stay with me for the summer,” Leo blurted, face growing rapidly darker. “With my family and me- they probably will love you, maybe mum even tries to adopt you as one of her own, or trade you for one of my siblings.”

 

Guang Hong started at his boyfriend with a blank expression. They have been dating for only a couple of months, and Leo already wanted Guang Hong to meet his family? That was a bit... sudden. On the other hand, if they just had been friends, Leo probably would also have invited him over.

 

“You know,” Guang Hong said slowly, a smile creeping up his face. “I think I won’t mind- if your family doesn’t mind it.”

 

Leo’s face lit up, eyes alive with happiness. “You won’t be disappointed,” he muttered, cradling Guang Hong’s face. “What would I do to kiss you right now?”

 

A silence fell between them, both looking equally red in the face. Guang Hong was the first one to find his voice, stuttering like crazy. “Maybe another time,” he said smiling. “When there aren’t three people staring at us.”

 

Yuuri busted out in laughing, Phichit sounded severely disappointed, and Seung-gil muttered a ‘thank Gods’.

 

“I hope you’re good at keeping promises,” Leo whispered, thumb running over Guang Hong’s bottom lip. “Because I definitely want to kiss you.”

 

This time Guang Hong swore he heard a gagging noise coming from somewhere, probably Seung-gil. What followed was a painful groan, some whispers and noises that sounded like cooing. But right now, all Guang Hong could focus on was Leo’s face, the bright eyes, the dusty cheeks and the absolutely smitten smile.

 

~*~

 

“Did you get everything?”

 

Guang Hong nodded, mentally recalling the things Leo just had told him. “Your brother will firstly pick Seung-gil and me up around eleven, after that he will get you and then Phichit, as those two firstly will head to Phichit’s family, who lives on the route.”

 

Leo nodded, smiling. “You forget one thing,” he added.

 

“And don’t tell your brother anything,” Guang Hong mumbled in an afterthought. Why exactly Leo was so hung up about it, he didn’t know. On the other hand, he didn’t have any siblings- so yeah, he had no idea what it was like to have them.

 

Tired, slightly nervous and annoyed, Guang Hong swatted Leo’s hand away. He wasn’t going to let Leo ruffled up his hair, _again_. He didn’t care that much about appearances, but he clearly didn’t appreciate Leo messing up his hair. Especially since Leo didn’t just ruffle his hair once, no, once Leo got his way, Guang Hong was stuck with an unnecessary bird nest that he was supposed to call hair.

 

“Stop touching my hair,” he mumbled, jabbing his finger accusingly against Leo’s chest. “You know that it’s a pain to fix.”

 

Leo whistled innocently, eyes wandering to the wall next to Guang Hong. “Your reaction is cute,” Leo mumbled nonchalantly. “Plus you look cute with poufy hair, it’s just the right amount of fluff.”

 

Forcing himself not to pout, Guang Hong flipped the bird Leo’s way. “Why am _I_ the cute one- your reactions are often cute too.”

 

Guang Hong was satisfied to see Leo grow flustered, his cool and aloof statue crumbling right in front of his eyes. “They aren’t cute,” Leo moped, scratching his neck out of habit. “I’m not cute- though, what reactions? You’re the one who quickly gets flustered.”

 

“Says the one who is _actually_ flustered,” Guang Hong deadpanned, taking a step closer to Leo. “Or how else do you explain why you’re flustered? We’ve a proper air conditioner here.”

 

Leo’s moment of hesitation was all he needed. Tomorrow, Leo’s oldest younger brother would pick them up, and for the rest of the summer, he would be staying at the Iglesias. While definitely not minding, Leo sounds very fond of his family, it also meant he wouldn’t get many opportunities to get close and cuddly with Leo. There were little girls, after all, little girls that didn’t want to be traumatised by seeing two grown men cuddle on the couch, especially if one of them was their brother.

 

Taking another step towards Leo, their bodies were almost flush now, Guang Hong threw his arms around Leo’s neck, forcing his boyfriend to bend forward. Tiptoeing, Guang Hong pressed his lips against Leo’s in a brief, chaste kiss. So, they at least had their first kiss before they had to keep their hands to themselves, well, outside of Leo’s bedroom.

 

The kiss was brief, almost disappointing, but Leo’s reaction made up for it. A panicked noise tore from Leo’s throat, pupils were blown big in surprise. The brunet was even more flustered than before, the blush dipping below his shirt.

 

“Like I said, cute,” Guang Hong pointed out, smiling teasingly at his boyfriend.

 

A string of gibberish followed before Leo started to produce somewhat recognizable words. “You... why did you? Oh God,” he buried his face in his hands, another slew of whiny noises followed. “That was our first kiss.”

 

Bouncing on the heels of his feet, Guang Hong grinned and patted his boyfriend reassuringly on the shoulder. “Yup,” he chimed. “Before we’re stuck at your place and the most romantic thing we can do is hold hands- if we can sell that off to your siblings.”

 

Guang Hong giggled gleefully as Leo still looked baffled, still trying to put two plus two together. “That was a pretty bad kiss,” Leo said, or actually, stuttered seemed to be more fitting. To his delight, Leo grew even more flustered. This was so worth the shitty first kiss.

 

“Babe,” Guang Hong drawled out, knowing that Leo most definitely wasn’t used to pet names like that. “You were the one who froze up.”

 

Leo licked his lips nervously, fingers flexing and Guang Hong had a faint idea what Leo was planning.

 

“But, I have to say,” Guang Hong continued as if not knowing what was going to happen. “You could try making up it- a first kiss isn’t everything, you know,” he added a forced wink, which still managed to mess up Leo’s composure.

 

Guang Hong was glad that Leo actually acted upon his suggestion. Otherwise. he wouldn’t know when he would’ve gathered the courage to the same thing again. Maybe if he were drunk- next year as he wasn’t going to start underage drinking, his parents would kill him.

 

Rough hands carefully caressed his face, a thumb gently rubbing over his cheekbone. Being held in place, Guang Hong watched as Leo leant in, nerves running wild. Leo’s breath was warm and smelled strongly like the food they just had, which made Guang Hong regret not preparing better and bring mint along. On the other hand, nothing beat an authentic ‘fuck it’ kiss.

 

“You’re nervous,” Guang Hong pointed out, giggling as Leo’s nose brushed against his.

 

He basically could hear Leo’s breath hitch, which instantly caused his heartbeat to stutter. A flush crawled up his cheeks, and Guang Hong followed Leo’s example and licked his lips. Okay, he had no right to say that, Leo made one noise and suddenly he was nervous beyond belief.

 

“So are you,” Leo whispered, voice nothing more than a rumble. One hand moved away from his face to his neck, fingers pressing softly against his pulse. “Your heart is racing as fast as mine,” he added, eyes already heavily lidded.

 

“Well, I guess we’re both nervous,” Guang Hong whispered before pushing himself on his tiptoes. Noses brushed, thankfully not painful and lips bumped against each other, causing for an awkward angle.

 

One of Leo’s hands disappeared in his hair, though this time Guang Hong refused to swat his arm away. The other had settled down on his lower back, inching scarily close to his butt. Not knowing what to with his own hands, Guang Hong grabbed Leo’s shirt and pulled him closer, forcing their lips even closer.

 

It had taken a while before they found the right angle, but after a lot of weird head-angles and shifting around, they had found it. Melting in the kiss, Guang Hong sighed contently and loosened his grip on Leo’s shirt. It is hard to breathe solely through his nose, but he refused to be the first one to part away from the kiss.

 

It seemed that nobody won the battle of who could kiss each other the longest. One loud, sudden cough was enough to make them jump apart, both flustered from head to toe. “This is a public space,” Seung-gil deadpanned, arms crossing and eyes narrowed. “Be gross somewhere else.”

 

Watching his roommate, a sudden idea struck him. “Okay, we’ll,” he said nonchalantly, ignoring his rapidly beating heart. Grabbing his keys, he unlocked the dorm room and beckoned Leo to follow. “Now we’re somewhere else that isn’t public,” Guang Hong chimed, entering shared living-dining with Leo in tow. The poor music student seemed lost for words.

 

Seung-gil slipped inside after them, using Guang Hong’s key to lock the front door. “I want another roommate,” Seung-gil muttered, hurrying to the safety of his bedroom.

 

Leo blinked owlish, eyes seeking out his. “Are we really going to make out in the middle of the living room?” he asked, nerves lingering in his voice.

 

Shaking his head, Guang Hong let out a soft laugh. “Nah, I’m going to bed- but I just wanted to annoy Seung-gil.”

 

Nodding, Leo seemed lost for words for a brief moment before his eyes were set with determination. “Then, well, good night I guess, see you tomorrow.”

 

It seemed that third time was charm. Before Guang Hong noticed what Leo was doing, the latter pressed a swift kiss on Guang Hong’s lips. A certain warmth lingered on his lips as Leo unlocked the door Seung-gil previously had locked. Only when the key hit him straight in the face was when Guang Hong recovered, staring at the door opening in semi-shock.

 

“Good night, Honeybuns,” Leo saluted before closing the door behind him.

 

With his legs shaking, Guang Hong sat down on the floor, eyes still laser-focussed on the door. Whom was he kidding? Yes, Leo was most definitely cute, and the reaction had been worth it. But it was much harder to take Leo off guard then to take him off guard. Leo probably was cackling, happy that he could prove that Guang Hong could get as easily flustered as he could. Heck, it was even worse, as this wasn’t even their first kiss anymore, nor second. By now, it shouldn’t even come as a surprise anymore.

 

How the fuck was he going to survive the summer sharing a room with Leo for at least three months? Probably not. He would have sent his parents his last letter, telling him that his cause of early death would be his soulmate, who was just too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:  
> \- Don't trespass. Just don't, it's illegal and you don't want to end up in holding with a fine you can't pay.  
> \- In this chapter, Guang Hong is actually 20- but he had never mentioned his birthday so Seung-gil still assumed he was 19.  
> \- Light years measures in distance, but it's commonly used for time-units because of the word 'years'.
> 
> Thank you so much for sticking with this fic! One chapter to go- not sure about the length yet, though knowing myself it will be a bit on the longer side. Comments and kudos are absolutely amazing- they're very motivational.
> 
> Title:  
> Somebody to Love - Queen


	8. The rest of the world was in black and white

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because this chapter was getting so long I had to split it in two. Good news, we're jumping from eight chapters total to ten, including an epilogue-ish chapter.

Guang Hong, admittedly, had been nervous to go to Leo’s place. It wasn’t because it was Leo’s place, no, it was because he wasn’t used to a busy household, being an only child and all. Being an only child was nothing compared to having four siblings like Leo had. However, honestly, it made for an interesting experience.

 

“Ji, can you pass the butter?” Daniela, or Dani as she had insisted, asked.

 

Reaching over the table, Guang Hong managed to snatch up the butter and passed it on to the middle-sister. A ‘gracias’ followed as the girl took the tub that held the butter from him.

 

Munching on his toast, Guang Hong slightly jumped when someone gently nudged his side. It was Natalia, or Lia as Leo called her, Leo’s youngest sister and secretly, Guang Hong’s favourite siblings next to Leo. She was like a miniature Leo with shoulder-length dark brown hair and matching eyes.

 

“Hey Ji,” a curious smile was on her face. “What do you want to become in the future?”

 

Blinking, Guang Hong sought out Leo’s mother. She smiled apologetically and nodded. From day one Lia liked to asked questions, ranging from small details like his favourite colour to more personal questions, like asking which of the Iglesia siblings was the prettiest. His answer had been Leo without a thought, which had earned him a lot of playful jabs and wolf whistles.

 

“An artist,” Guang Hong answered in all honestly. “What about you Lia?”

 

The girl’s curious smile faltered slightly. “So you’re like Leo?” she pouted, this time the disappointment showing bright and clear.

 

Guang Hong was about to explain that he wasn’t a music artist like Leo, but it seemed his boyfriend beat him to the punch.

 

“Nah, he’s a drawer, just like you,” Leo explained, offering his youngest sister a kind smile.

 

Lia’s eyes grew big like saucers, her jaw slightly dropped. Surprised by her reaction, Guang Hong tried to catch Leo’s mum her gaze. Leo had insisted that if he was ever unsure about a situation, Guang Hong had to go this his mamá and everything would be fine.

 

Nikole, Leo’s mother, smile softly. Her eyes with alive with happiness, a ‘go ahead’ expression on her face. Still, that didn’t mean that Guang Hong _knew_ what to do. Younger children were a complete mystery to him.

 

“That’s so awesome!” the girl exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. “What do you like to draw? Landscapes? People? Animals? Or are you a cartoon artist like Dylan?”

 

Dylan was Leo’s only brother and the one who had picked them up from the dormitories. He was like a split image of Leo, only four years younger, with shorter hair, a permanent blush on his face and a lot taller. Think about an Emil-height of tall. Curiously eyeing the brother, Guang Hong saw Dylan shrink back slightly, an embarrassing look on his face.

 

“Mainly people and nature- like flowers,” Guang Hong answered. Lia’s smile brightened significantly, and he felt his heart swell with happiness. He didn’t understand how Lia couldn’t be Leo’s favourite sister. “I mainly like to paint, though I don’t mind drawing either.”

 

From that moment on, he pretty much had Lia wrapped around his fingers. Or, on an afterthought, she probably had him wrapped around her finger. Excited, she begged him to show her some pictures of his paintings and, unable to say no to her adorable pout, Guang Hong whipped out his phone and opened his art gallery.

 

The moment he had handed her his phone, she was gone. Breakfast suddenly had become a lot quieter without Lia’s constant babbling, which was now replaced by an occasional gasp or cooing noise. Olivia, Leo’s oldest sister, was sneaking glances at Guang Hong’s phone, interest on her otherwise bored looking expression. Was this entire family artistic or was it just Leo, Dylan and Lia? However, to be honest, it was hard to judge a nine-year-old yet on the decisions of her future.

 

“Ji?” Lia questioned innocently, nudging his arm. “Who is this?”

 

Curious, Guang Hong leant into Lia’s personal space, checking out whatever picture she had pulled op. It was a picture of Seung-gil covered in painted stars, planets and other beauties of the outer space. Ah, the memories, actually, thinking about it, it was when he had met Leo.

 

“Seung-gil, my roommate,” Guang Hong explained.

 

He shouldn’t have done that. Lia squealed, pushed herself to her feet and basically shoved Guang Hong’s phone in her mother’s face. “I want to marry him!” she exclaimed. “He’s so pretty.”

 

Leo buried his face in his hands and started to _laugh_. Olivia squeaked, barely avoiding getting hit by Lia’s elbow. Glaring at her youngest sister, the oldest sister returned her gaze back to her phone. Dylan groaned, muttering something about ‘hating this household’. Guang Hong honestly couldn’t blame him, he lives with four women most of the year. The last sister remained blissfully unaware, ignoring the fact her sister just announced she wanted to marry someone who was over a decade older than she was.

 

“Natalia, sweetie,” Nikole mumbled, gently pushing Lia’s hand with the phone down. “You can’t just go around and claim everyone as your husband, maybe he already has a girlfriend.”

 

Lia pouted and folded her arms, stilling holding onto Guang Hong’s phone tightly. “He’s too pretty to have a girlfriend,” she pointed out. “He should be kept in a museum because that’s where art belongs.”

 

That was the end of the little composure Guang Hong had left. Snorting loudly, he buried his face in his hands and started to _laugh_. He was _so_ adopting Lia the moment he got the chance.

 

“But if he is too pretty to have a girlfriend, how can he marry you?” Dani pointed out, suddenly jumping into the conversation.

 

Guang Hong was sure Lia was lost for words. The girl usually was quick with answering, so hearing as it took her a while. “I hadn’t thought about that,” she admitted.

 

Dani huffed triumphantly and finally, when Guang Hong knew he wouldn’t suddenly burst out in laughing, he removed his hands from his face.

 

“You have a terrible taste anyway,” Dani added, a sly grin on her face. “Ji would be much better husband material that your so-called ‘husband’.”

 

Dylan simply left, Olivia ignored them, Lia gasped scandalously, and Nikole looked like she regretted having kids. The best reaction, however, was Leo. His boyfriend had decided that it probably would be safe to continue his breakfast. Bad idea, a terrible idea. Leo coughed loudly, struggling to catch his breath while food probably had shot down his windpipe.

 

Maybe Dani was no longer Leo’s favourite siblings if she kept this up.

 

~*~

 

Squirming around on the small bed, Leo turned, facing the laying figure of his boyfriend. “You’re comfortable?” he asked.

 

Eyes fluttered open, clouded with drowsiness. “Yeah, better than the air mattress,” Guang Hong mumbled, snuggling closer. “It’s a tight fit though.”

 

“I know,” Leo snorted as he gently runs his fingers along Guang Hong’s jaw. “Now hoping that nobody decides to crash the guest room, I doubt they’re expecting us to sleep in the same bed.”

 

With a small regret, Leo had decided not to tell his parents yet about Guang Hong, at least, not in a soulmate-wise kind of introduction. It was safer to say that his boyfriend was his friend and see how they would react. Up until now, it seemed that they adore Guang Hong- maybe even had gone as far as adopting him. Especially considering that Lia pretty much had disowned him as favourite brother and had given Guang Hong the title.

 

“Well, if they do that, I no longer have to worry about Dani trying to woe me,” Guang Hong grinned, pressing his face against Leo’s neck.

 

Mirroring his boyfriend grin, Leo pulled Guang Hong closer and tucked him safely in the crook of his neck. “Considering that if they see us sleeping in the same bed we’ll be caught anyway, we at least can get comfortable.”

 

It seemed that Guang Hong didn’t found a fault in his suggestion. The brunet curled up further, pressing his cold feet against Leo’s warm legs. “Yeah,” he mumbled, voice once again thick with sleep. “I wouldn’t mind sleeping with my personal furnace.”

 

“So you aren’t going to ditch me for Dani?” Leo asked teasingly.

 

“Depends,” Guang Hong mumbled. “Is she also a walking furnace?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

Guang Hong hummed approvingly. “Well, I guess I’ll stick with you, can’t let you go after months of mutual pining and friends who were complete assholes.”

 

~*~

 

It was boring without Leo. Leo still had his summer job as a lifeguard, and actually needing the money, Leo couldn’t afford to sit that one out to entertain Guang Hong. Therefore, it was up to himself to find something to do.

 

Seeking out the youngest siblings, knowing that she probably would help him, Guang Hong found Lia in the living area, face glued to the television. “Hey, Lia. Is there a room where I can paint?”

 

The girl tore her gaze from the television. “You want to paint?” Lia asked. Guang Hong nodded.

 

“We actually do have something for that,” Lia announced excitedly, getting up in a simple motion. What would it be like to be young again and not feeling like an old grandpa? “Do you want me to show you?”

 

“That would be nice,” Guang Hong answered.

 

Lia pretty much bolted out of the room, humming happily. Picking up the remote, Guang Hong shut off the television and followed Lia out of the room, hoping that the girl would wait for him.

 

Basically bouncing on her feet, Lia gestured wildly, telling him to hurry up and follow her.

 

Because of their height difference, Guang Hong had little to no issue to catch up, soon trailing along with Lia in their journey through the spacious home.

 

“Hey, Ji,” Lia asked quietly out of the sudden, her previous eagerness disappearing like snow in the sun. “Are you going to marry Dani?”

 

Marry Dani? He never had implied he liked the fourth sibling, though, on the other hand, the bold siblings had announced that she would marry Guang Hong. At least, something along those lines.

 

“Nah, there’s someone else out there for her,” Guang Hong answered, deciding that bringing up the whole ‘soulmate’ thing would make things more complicated. Because how would he explain that his _own_ soulmate was their older brother?

 

Lia’s previously quiet, slightly blank, look morphed into one of mild curious. “Her soulmate you mean?” the girl cocked her head, batting her eyelashes innocently.

 

“Yes, I guess,” Guang Hong mumbled, unsure what to do. He had a feeling he shouldn’t trust Lia.

 

It seemed like he had pulled the trigger. “Have you met yours yet?” Lia asked excitedly.

 

His mind drew a blank. If he said yes, she surely would ask who it was. If he said no, he was lying and the last thing he wanted was to lie to a nine-year-old kid.

 

“Natalia,” Olivia scolded. The teen was standing in the door opening of her bedroom, eyes set in a glare. “What did I told you about asking others about their soulmates?”

 

Despite Olivia just being her sister, Lia seemed guilty. “Sorry,” the girl mumbled.

 

Huffing, Olivia shook her head disappointingly. “You shouldn’t apologise to me, Guang Hong is the one you should apologise to.”

 

Nodding, Lia turned her attention to Guang Hong. “Sorry Ji,” she apologised, face flustered with embarrassment. “It was rude to ask.”

 

“It’s okay,” he answered, gently petting her head. After exchanging a brief look with Olivia, the oldest sister disappeared back into her room, leaving him alone with Lia again. “Can you still show me the room or...”

 

Lia’s expression did a one-eight. Nodding excitedly, the girl grabbed his hand and pulled him along, guiding him through the maze of hallways.

 

Eventually, he was led into a room that looked like it used to be a playing room. Shelves stacked to breaking point with board games, old clothes meant for painting, children books and much more. One wall was entirely black- chalk-paint Guang Hong assumed. A few chairs were scattered around the room and a small desk pushed against the wall.

 

“The clothes are for painting,” Lia explained, grabbing a bundle of fabric from the shelves. “You can’t paint the walls, I’m pretty sure there is some paint left in the drawers, and otherwise you could ask mum, she probably still has some laying around.”

 

Accepting the bundle of fabric, Guang Hong watched as Lia bouncing nervously. It was clear that she still felt guilty about asking about his soulmate.

 

“Thank you, Lia,” he thanked her. “I’ve paint myself so that shouldn’t be an issue. And, one thing,” grinning softly, he saw Lia cock her head in confusion. “You know my soulmate.”

 

The girl blinked, staring at Guang Hong with uncontrolled surprise. “Don’t say it’s Seung!” she wailed, tears springing in her eyes.

 

Okay, he took it back, he didn’t want to adopt Lia. Being an only child wasn’t so bad after all.

 

~*~

 

Guang Hong let out a rather unmanly squeal when Leo picked him right off the couch. For the first time in the summer, they had the entire house for themselves, both Leo’s parents were working, Dani and Lia were stuck at camp for a few weeks, Dylan had some summer school to do, and Olivia was at a friend’s house. Yet, despite having the house for themselves alone, neither of them had attempted to do anything ‘personal’. Up until now, apparently.

 

“Leo, explain yourself,” Guang Hong huffed, folding his arms and glaring at his boyfriend. He didn’t even care that his feet were dangling in the air, showing off their height difference.

 

Grinning cheekily, Leo put Guang Hong down on two feet in the middle of the living room. “Well, I was thinking, if we push the furniture aside, we could dance?”

 

His first instinct was to look around the room, seeing if there actually would be enough space to dance. Yes, if they pushed everything to the walls, it probably would be manageable. Only after coming to that conclusion, Guang Hong realised what Leo was implying.

 

“I’m not dancing,” he protested, not so gently jabbing Leo’s chest. “I’m terrible at dancing.”

 

His words didn’t discourage Leo, at all. The man grinned broadly, eyes alive with joy. “I’m not the greatest dancer either,” Leo admitted, cheeks rapidly growing darker. “But it’ll be fun- I want to do something fun with you that we can’t do in the middle of the night in the small guest room we sleep in.”

 

Well, admittedly, it sounded fun, especially considering that Leo was probably as lousy as he was at dancing. Yet it didn’t stop him from worrying.

 

“But to what will we dance?” Guang Hong eventually settled on, biting his lip in worry.

 

“What are your suggestions,” Leo countered immediately. “I mean, you know my music taste and I know you don’t like it that much.”

 

He honestly wasn’t sure what to suggest. Guang Hong could go with his usual music selection, which was mainly music that was released before he was even born. Alternatively, maybe he would just suggest plugging in Leo’s phone and hearing what his boyfriend had to offer. After all, an upbeat pop song probably would do better than some overly romantic love-balled.

 

“Your music please,” Guang Hong answered. Leo looked surprised, not even bothering to hide it. However, the surprised look didn’t last long as soon, as soon a smile curled up the brunet’s lips, a love-struck gaze gracing his features.

 

Thankfully, they didn’t have to share much more words between them. Guang Hong hadn’t been sure if he could keep his composure if he had to talk more. While it didn’t look like that, his heart was pounding like crazy, his blood was rushing in his ears. Leo made him feel all kind of weird, especially if he smiled like that.

 

It was a small struggle to move everything to the walls, the rug, in particular, was a struggle as it was humongous. Even with two, it was a task that even the gods didn’t want to face, but on the other hand, it made the experience that was to come even more worth it.

 

Leo stored the large rug in the kitchen, returning with a flustered face and sweat rolling down his neck. “Well, that was my daily need to exercise,” he grinned. “So, still ready to dance?”

 

Rubbing his hands nervously, Guang Hong nodded. “As ready as I can be, I guess,” he said, trying to sound aloof. He failed miserably, the nerves were thick and strong in his voice.

 

Thankfully, Leo seemed to catch up on that. After offering him an assuring look, Leo walked over to the sound-system of the television and plugged his phone in. After a bit, the first tunes of a song Guang Hong was somewhat familiar with echoed through the living room.

 

“Taylor Swift, really?” he teased.

 

His words clearly didn’t seem to faze Leo, who just smiled and nodded. “I thought it was a good way to start. Not too slow, not too upbeat. A nice mix in-between.”

 

Leo took his hands and started to drag him through the room in slow steps and lazy spins. Guang Hong’s heart was still beating like crazy, his palms were sweaty, and his stomach was making summersaults. However, he was enjoying himself, a lot. They both were terrible dancers, at least, Guang Hong assumed they were considering how both of them had stepped on each other’s feet occasionally. It didn’t hurt, as they were wearing socks, but it was a firm reminder that Leo was as inexperienced as he was.

 

“Can I dip you?” Leo whispered during a quiet part of the song, Taylor Swift’s voice no longer overpowering their conversation.

 

After taking a brief moment to figure out what Leo meant, Guang Hong nodded slowly. “You can also lift me if you want,” he added, heart jumping slightly by the idea of being lifted by Leo, willingly.

 

A brief smile lit up Leo’s face, and they continued to step and twirl around the room. The moment the first song ended Leo dipped him. Never had Guang Hong been more grateful for the fact that Leo was physically fit, as he feared for a solid ten seconds that Leo wouldn’t be able to hold him. However, Leo managed, and when the next song- still Taylor Swift- started, Guang Hong was hoisted up with ease, and they continued to dance.

 

Feeling more at ease, Guang Hong started to notice the lyrics of the music. It was even that bad- it wasn’t his taste, but it was nice. One piece of particular tugged his memory, and for whatever unwanted reason, his brain started to cook up an art piece fitting the lyrics, now hoping that he could find it back later without having to ask Leo about it.

 

By the end of the second song, Guang Hong was already tired and slightly dizzy, but while his mind was telling him to stop, his body continued. He hadn’t this much fun in a long time, doing something without expectations, something that was just fun and meant to make him relax. So, despite his mind screaming no, he continued for another song and another one. About seven songs in Leo pretty collapsed on one of the couches, panting heavy and sweating buckets of sweat.

 

“I’m beat,” he breathed, gesturing Guang Hong to sit down too. With legs shaking like jelly, Guang Hong sat down next to Leo. They wouldn’t expect anyone returning anytime soon, so they could rest up a bit, cuddle and fix up the living room. At least, that was what he and Leo had expected.

 

Suddenly, the door from the hallway swung open and a sweaty, exhausted looking Dylan entered the room. Digging through his memory, Guang Hong was pretty sure the other brother wasn’t supposed to return before five, which was still two hours from now.

 

“What did you guys do?” Dylan asked with a disapproving voice. A bushy eyebrow was raised, and brown eyes were wandering the room. “Have you guys been dancing to,” the brother paused for a brief moment, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration. “Taylor Swift?”

 

“Maybe,” Leo squeaked, face flushing red out of embarrassment. Guang Hong, on the other hand, couldn’t even properly response. He was frozen on the spot, heart beating rapidly as stomach churning uncomfortably. Friends didn’t dance together to shitty romantic music, no normal friends anyway.

 

Dylan rolled his eyes, dropping his bag on the ground. “You aren’t fooling me, you know,” the brunet pointed out. “I know the two of you are soulmates- it’s very obvious, at least to me.”

 

Guang Hong and Leo exchanged confused expressions, not sure how to react to Dylan. How had he noticed? They weren’t exactly touchy-feeling with each other outside of the bedroom, nor had they called each other cutesy nicknames like babe or honeybuns.

 

“That’s quite a bold accusation Dill,” Leo pointed out while trying to keep his composure. “Anything to back that up?”

 

“I’m not loud like the rest, so I like to observe. You returned happier this summer, and by the looks of it, all that happiness came along in the form of Guang Hong. _And_ as you have ranted plenty enough about your soulmate to me, I had a hunch what to look for,” Dylan’s eyes settled down on Guang Hong. “An artist of your age who studies art here in America but is from China. That doesn’t leave many possibilities.”

 

Leo looked like a kid caught stealing candy from their parents. “And you don’t mind,” Leo mumbled. “I mean, he’s a guy and-”

 

“I don’t mind,” Dylan cut off, lips pressed tightly together. “I rather have you coming home with a sweet guy than an Olivia 2.0- I fear that would’ve caused for more fights and heated arguments.”

 

Guang Hong wasn’t sure what to do. This was a conversation between brothers, he had no saying in this whatsoever. However, sitting here and be quiet didn’t felt the right thing to do either. Thankfully, Dylan came to his rescue.

 

“Welcome to the family, I guess,” Dylan said kindly, looking very flustered. “I won’t tell the rest, that’s up to you two, but you have my blessings. You’re an okay guy.”

 

He knew the last four words were especially directed to him. Growing flustered, Guang Hong let out a whining noise and buried his face into Leo’s shoulder. He had never expected to get approval from Leo’s family to be this nerve-wracking, especially considering that if they were unlucky, they would get an approval or disapproval six times total from each member each.

 

~*~

 

“Is this really necessary?” Leo questioned, glaring at Olivia with all the annoyance he could muster.

 

Olivia didn’t seem to be fazed at all, just flicking his head in annoyance and continued rummage trough the cabinets of the bathroom. “Yes, this is Dani’s first solo performance, we’re there to support her, and I can’t let you go looking like this.”

 

What exactly ‘this’ was, Leo wasn’t sure. However, it was Olivia. She pretty much knew everything there was to know about make-up, at least, Leo assumed she knew. He knew nothing, at all, so people were quickly knowledgeable on make-up compared to him.

 

“And what’s wrong about this,” with the same annoyance he had displayed before, Leo gestured to his face. “It seems fine to me.”

 

Clicking her tongue disapprovingly, the girl cluttered the sink with an insane amount of beauty products. “Acne scars, for starters,” she pointed out, accusingly jabbing Leo’s forehead. “Secondly, you look like you just have risen from the death- tired,” she continued, and honestly, Leo couldn’t even blame her. He has been making long days at work, but he refused to go to bed early because he wanted to spend as much time together with Guang Hong as possible. “Plus your summer freckles are showing.”

 

“I like my freckles,” Leo pointed out, placing a hand protectively over his nose. “They’re cute and unlike some,” he offered his sister a pointed look. “I don’t feel the need to cover them up.”

 

Olivia rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. “Fine, not the freckles, but you can’t escape the rest so easily. Now, sit still and let me do my work.”

 

It wasn’t exactly the first time that Olivia had sat him down and forced him to wear make-up. He could see the appeal because it actually did work hiding his flaws, but it was too much of a hassle to actually learn. Not to mention that it was very expensive due to the whole soulmate thing. Nobody wanted their make-up to show on the other’s face, with a few exceptions. Seung-gil looked far from bad with winged eyeliner, especially considering that the Korean was completely obvious to it it most of the times.

 

“Say, Olivia,” Leo started slowly, ignoring the feeling of his pores being stuffed with a thick layer of make-up. “Is this soulmate proof?”

 

The pressure of the beauty blender disappeared for a brief moment. “I don’t know,” she admitted. Looking up, Leo saw her hurriedly grabbing the tube with foundation. “I think it is,” she mumbled, eyes squinting as she tried to read what was written on the tube. “It’s a bit faded due to age, but I doubt I would buy anything that isn’t soulmate proof.”

 

Praying that Olivia was right, Leo rested his case and let his sister do the things she wanted. It was easier to just go with the flow than trying to stand against Olivia.

 

Somewhere in the middle of Olivia applying concealer underneath his eyes, somebody knocked on the bathroom door. Olivia piped up and an ‘it’s unlocked’ followed.

 

Guang Hong shyly stepped into the bathroom, a hastily folded shirt tucked under his arm. Leo assumed his boyfriend wanted to ask whenever the clothing was appropriate for tonight’s show, but neither he nor Olivia could focus their attention on Guang Hong’s sheepish sounding question. Instead, Leo’s eyes were drawn to his boyfriend’s dark, blended out forehead. The make-up wasn’t soulmate proof after all.

 

“Get in,” Olivia hissed, voice strained with panic.

 

While looking utterly confused, Guang Hong did was his sister asked and stepped inside the bathroom. In a hurry, Olivia locked the door, eyebrows drawn in worry.

 

Leo removed his gaze from his sister when Guang Hong tugged his sleeve. “Did I miss something?” he asked, looking lost.

 

“The shirt is fine,” Olivia said briskly, throwing open the cabinet. “Your face, on the other hand, isn’t. Take a look.”

 

Without even looking up from her search through the cabinet, Olivia trusted a handheld mirror in Guang Hong’s hand. “So that was a reason I didn’t use that one anymore,” she added in a mumble, chucking the foundation in the trash can without a second thought.

 

“I look ridiculous,” Guang Hong snorted, staring intensely at his reflection. 

 

Chuckling softly, Leo prodded Guang Hong’s leg with his foot. “Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag.”

 

Guang Hong groaned softly, carefully placing the mirror in the sink. “That’s number two already. Can’t we better just come out to everyone already?”

 

“And facing Dani’s disappointment?”

 

The annoyance melted of Guang Hong’s face. “Yeah, let’s keep it a secret for now.”

 

Honestly, Leo was surprised Olivia hadn’t made a comment on it. She was nosy, she thrived on this kind of news, at Leo assumed. However, maybe, she wanted to wait with questions until she had more power over them, forcing them to satisfy her curiosity.

 

“No Leo, I’m not going to question you like some prisoner,” Olivia snapped, nudging him in the side not so gently. “Switch with Guang Hong- I have to remove the make-up.”

 

Wincing slightly, rubbing his side, Leo got up and switched places with Guang Hong. The moment Guang Hong had sat down, the girl started to attack the poor man’s face- or forehead in particular. A few make-up wipes later Guang Hong no longer looked like he had been attacked by brown paint.

 

“I guess that will be no make-up,” Olivia mumbled disappointedly. “But I guess congratulations are in due- how long?”

 

“Late January, I think,” Leo mused, exchanging looks with Guang Hong. “We knew each other before that, but we were simply clueless that we were each other’s soulmate.”

 

Olivia hummed approvingly. With practised ease, the clutter of make-up was stuffed back into the cabinet, the make-up wipes carelessly thrown in the trashcan. “Well, I approve,” the teen said. “He’s cute- could be a lot worse, though...” Leo regretted letting his guard down the moment Olivia started to grin. “Good luck telling Dani. She’s already making wedding plans.”

 

He could hear Guang Hong whimper while he himself just groaned, burying his face in his hands. Olivia sneaked out past them, unlocking the door and leaving the bathroom. “We leave in ten- make sure you guys are ready,” she added sweetly. He hated his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and being patient. I hope it's still fun to read as it's starting to get pretty pointless. I hope Leo's family is likeable and somewhat realistic. (I have siblings myself so I have a rough idea what kind of relation to write still...)
> 
> The family (just to be sure- be prepared for shitting and cliché names. Feel free to bash me for screwing up the names.)  
> Mother: Nikole de la Iglesia  
> Father: Miguel de la Iglesia  
> Brother: Dylan de la Iglesia [17]  
> Sister I: Olivia de la Iglesia [15]  
> Sister II: Daniela 'Dani' de la Iglesia [11]  
> Sister III: Natalia 'Lia' de la Iglesia [9]
> 
>  **Title:** Out of the Woods - Taylor Swift


	9. We were in Screaming Colours

Taking a deep breath, Guang Hong knocked on the bedroom door. From all the siblings, Guang Hong had spent the least amount of time with Olivia. Maybe it was because she was very on herself, spending most of her time in her room or at her friend’s place.

 

It didn’t take long for the oldest sister to open the door, a thin eyebrow raised in surprise. “Guang Hong?” she asked, sounding as confused as she looked. “I- I’m not even surprised.”

 

Guang Hong mirrored Olivia’s confused expression, not sure what she meant by that. “Why is that?”

 

The teen rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh. “The rest doesn’t bother to knock, they just brag in,” she explained. “But how can I help you?”

 

Mustering up the courage to ask, Guang Hong couldn’t help but fidget nervously on the spot. He wasn’t exactly used talking to girls, and honestly, Olivia wasn’t the most approachable girl he knew. “I need help finding a song,” he explained.

 

“And why not asking Leo as he’s your soulmate and all?” the girl threw around the word ‘soulmate’ as if it was an everyday word.

 

Hissing, Guang Hong looked around the hallway. Nobody, of course, Olivia wasn’t stupid. “Because it’s for his birthday,” he explained in a hurry. “I know the song was from Taylor Swift, but I don’t know which one it is amongst the enormous pile of songs.”

 

Olivia’s face lit up. “Well, I can help you with that, I think next to Leo I’m the biggest fan of pop music here,” she explained proudly. “So, remember anything from the song?”

 

Biting his lip in worry, Guang Hong shrugged vaguely. “A bit, I guess, some of the text. Something about black and white colour and bright colours.”

 

“Oh,” the sister cooed. She knew.

 

“Did it sound like this?” she asked, humming a tune that sounded familiar. When Guang Hong shrugged again, offering the teen an apologetic look, Olivia cleared her throat.

 

“The rest of the world was in black and white,” she started, and Guang Hong realised she had a pretty singing voice. It seemed that this was an artistic family after all. “But we were in screaming colours.”

 

Nodding excitedly, Guang Hong couldn’t believe his luck. He probably would spend so much time finding the song while there was a literal living database a few doors down the hallway. “You’re a lifesaver,” he said excitedly, offering Olivia a bright smile. “So, what song is it?”

 

“Out of the Woods- one of her newer ones,” the teen hesitated briefly. “Why did you want to know it? Are you going to cover it?”

 

Breathing nervously, Guang Hong shook his head. “No- I’m a terrible singer. I had an idea for an art piece based on that song and, well, is it a good idea as a present for Leo?”

 

That has been his biggest insecurity. What if Leo didn’t like the present. Phichit and Seung-gil had said they had been happy with the paintings, as it was something they could treasure forever and always will have memories of. But they had commissioned them, Leo hadn’t.

 

“He’ll love everything you give him,” Olivia pointed out. “Leo is an easy guy, not very picky about what he gets. As long as you have put thought into it, he’ll be happy.”

 

While it didn’t reassure him completely, Guang Hong decided that he just had to give it a shot. He still had a couple of weeks left, and if the finished product wasn’t to his liking, he still could simply buy something and keep the painting himself.

 

“Thank you, Olivia,” Guang Hong bade the girl farewell and darted to his and Leo’s guestroom. He had a song to look up and sketches to sketch.

 

~*~

 

Guang Hong sighed, melting in the kiss with ease. Behind the closed door, they didn’t have to hold back, well, at least kissing-wise. Neither of them dared to make much more noise, as the walls were thin and somehow, every minute of the day it seemed someone was awake, whenever it was Dylan working on homework at two in the night or Olivia who woke up at five to fix her hair and make-up.

 

“I’ve been thinking,” Leo murmured against his lip. “Maybe we should tell them after all.”

 

Leaning a bit back, making it easier to talk, Guang Hong thought for a while to answer. “It’s your choice, honestly. If your parents suddenly want to throw me out- I can grab the train back and stay the rest of the summer in my dorm room.”

 

He squeaked when Leo pulled their bodies flush, lips kissing him almost hungrily. This was started to be borderline making out, and, realistically, surely someone could hear their heavy breathing or soft moans sooner or later and start to worry.

 

“I doubt they will,” Leo answered, moving up to press a kiss against Guang Hong’s forehead. “They pretty have adopted you already,” a soft chuckle send shivers down his spine. Leo, either not noticing or just being a jerk, continued like nothing had happened. “Mamá already had asked if you would come over next summer. Dylan and Olivia already know and Lia basically already has adopted you.”

 

“Yeah, but,” Guang Hong murmured, fingers reaching out Leo’s. “What about Dani, she would be heartbroken.”

 

Leo huffed. “I know, but she can’t have you, you’re already mine, and I won’t trade you for anything in the universe.”

 

Guang Hong knew that Leo wasn’t possessive, it was all playful teasing, but it didn’t stop him from huffing and merciless pinching his boyfriend side. “I’m not an object, remember,” he muttered softly, prodding his finger against a ticklish spot.

 

Laughter that was too loud for the night escaped Leo’s lips, warming Guang Hong’s heart. It was tiring, hiding their relationship. It wasn’t like they were planning on making out in public or anything, but they couldn’t be affectionate with each other, at all. It was hard not to cross the line between friendship and lovers.

 

“You’re evil,” Leo whispered, warm breath tickling Guang Hong’s sweaty neck. “And bad people have to be punished.”

 

It was hard to muffle his laughter the moment Leo full-on started to tickle him. It was evil, downright evil. But, on the other hand, he had begun it. If he hadn’t tickled Leo, if it only had been a little, he wouldn’t have been on the receiving end.

 

“You’re calling me evil,” Guang Hong said almost hysterical. He knew he was way too loud, that surely someone would hear him, but he couldn’t stop back the laughter.

 

Lips briefly lingered on his own before Leo merciless lifted him up, legs dangling in the air. “Yes, I’m calling you evil,” Guang Hong giggled as Leo rubbed their noses together. “Evil for making me fall in love with you so easily.”

 

His face heated up in an entirely different way that it had done before. It had nothing to do with the warm weather or the lack of breath due to laughing too much. It had something to do with his heart stuttering like crazy, mouth growing dry and blood rushing in his ears. He was flustered, and not a little.

 

“You can’t say that,” Guang Hong whimpered, softly kicking Leo’s leg.

 

As Leo didn’t respond, at least vocally, Guang Hong looked up, meeting Leo’s gaze. His boyfriend too was flustered, his cheeks darker than normal, pupils slight blown. “You’re also flustered,” he pointed out, using his free hand to flick Leo’s nose. They were so mature.

 

Eventually, Leo lowered Guang Hong. He never was happier to let his feet touch the ground- maybe the should have a one-on-one about that maybe lifting him up wasn’t the nicest thing to do. On the other hand, he didn’t fear that Leo would drop him.

 

“Of course I’m flustered,” Leo answered. ‘I don’t realise half of what I’m saying.”

 

Guang Hong giggled- why did he have to giggle?- and pressed a lingering kiss on Leo’s lips. “That makes two,” he whispers.

 

Now was the moment they probably would head to bed and sleep. It seemed the logical thing to do, it was late, Leo had to get up early to go to work, and the last thing either of them wanted was Leo dosing off at work, as a _lifeguard_. But, of course, things had to go wrong. Because life wasn’t fair, apparently.

 

The door of the guest room creaked as it was slowly pushed open. Dani stood in the door opening, wearing a long nightgown, hair an even bigger mess of curls than usually and a stuffed toy tucked underneath her arm.

 

A few seconds passed and almost at the same time, Guang Hong and Leo realised in what kind of position they were. A very intimate position. Dani’s eyes grew big, her lips quivering slightly. “Leo,” she wailed softly. “You can’t steal my husband. He’s mine.”

 

There was actual sniffing, and Guang Hong dared to believe there were tears. Leo, however, didn’t seem fazed by his sister’s her antics. Shaking his head disapproving, Leo walked up to the door and hoisted Dani up with ease.

 

“I got him first,” Leo pointed out. “You’re a year too late.”

 

Dani pouted, but there were no longer tears, and her lip was no longer quivering. She was quite the actress, Guang Hong concluded. “But what if he’s my soulmate?” she questioned. “You can’t know that.”

 

Leo chuckled and nuzzled Dani’s hair. “Silly, he isn’t yours because he’s mine.”

 

The little girl gasped scandalously. “Really?” she asked in disbelief. “Ji is your soulmate?”

 

Leo hummed. “Yes, which means he’ll be your brother-in-law in the future. So, you don’t have to worry I’ll whisk him away from you, okay?”

 

Dani took a long time to answer, giving Leo the opportunity to sit her down on the bed and close the door. “Well, what do you say?” Leo asked, hands pressed against his hips- a pose that reminded Guang Hong a lot of Leo’s mother. “Is brother-in-law also okay? Lia is okay with it.”

 

“Maybe,” Dani answered, her gaze shifting from Leo to Guang Hong. “Do you love my brother?” she asked bluntly, arms crossed and a determined look on her face.

 

Guang Hong was convinced his face exploded. “I think so,” he stammered, not sure how to answer. How did you respond to such a question anyway?

 

“That isn’t enough,” the girl said sternly, basically glaring his way. “Would you fall on one knee and propose to my brother?”

 

Okay, now it wasn’t embarrassment anymore. Now it was panic. “I don’t know,” Guang Hong wailed, burying his face into his hands. “I like him, okay? We know each other for less than a year for fuck sake!”

 

Shit, he had cursed in front of a child. Well, now Dani would definitely not approve of him. While he was dating Leo, Dani’s opinion shouldn’t matter, it sort of did. Dani was, after all, Leo’s favourite sibling. Maybe Leo cared more about Dani that Guang Hong and would kick him out after all.

 

“Okay, you can stay,” Dani chimed. “If I can sleep with you guys because I had a nightmare and Lia snores.”

 

That was it? Guang Hong had to cuss and now Dani accepted him as a future brother-in-law. What kind of family was this?

 

Leo nudged his side, forcing Guang Hong to look up and eye his boyfriend with caution. “It’ll be a tight fit,” Leo started. “But if Guang Hong doesn’t mind I’m fine with it.”

 

He wanted to say no- because it would be a really _tight_ fit, and he wasn’t the biggest fan of Dani. But, on the other hand, he just sort of gotten her blessing, as far as the blessings of an eleven-year-old counted. So maybe it wasn’t a bad thing to stay on her good side for now. “If it fits I’m fine with it,” he eventually answered.

 

In some kind of miraculous way, it fit. Sadly enough, they couldn’t spoon because Dani had taken place between them, snuggling against Leo’s chest. But, on the other hand, it was just for one night. Unless Dani was actually the evil one and tried to hog Leo all to herself as much as possible till Guang Hong no longer existed.

 

Mentally kicking himself, Guang Hong closed his eyes. Leo wasn’t like that, and surely Dani wasn’t either. She never had really forced herself upon Leo if he and Leo were spending time together. She probably was used to sleeping with Leo if she had a nightmare considering that Leo wasn’t even surprised when Dani had mentioned it. Plus, it was ridiculous to get jealous of an eleven-year-old.

 

~*~

 

Tucking the paintbrush behind his ear, Guang Hong took a few steps back, getting a better view of the painting. It looked fine- the basics, but it still needed a _lot_ of shading. Maybe he should have started earlier, Leo’s birthday pressing closer by each day. He had still a week-and-a-half left, which would be a lot if Leo would have to work on every single day. Of course, his boyfriend had managed to get nearly an entire week off to spend time with Guang Hong and his own family, which left Guang Hong a few days to finish the painting in secrecy.

 

“What do you think Lia?” he questioned, beckoning the youngest siblings to come over.

 

Hopping off the desk, Lia basically bounced up to him, an eager look in her eyes. “It’s so beautiful,” she cooed, staring at the painting with starry eyes. “Is it already finished?”

 

Guang Hong shook his head, a certain level of dread settling in his stomach. He still had a lot to do- especially considering that the shading would be an absolute pain. He preferred to freestyle, but now he had to take things like lighting in account, the lighting of an entirely imaginary sun.

 

“Well, it will be beautiful,” Lia cheered. “Leo most definitely will love it- and otherwise I’ll steal it.”

 

Letting out a chuckle, Guang Hong picked up his phone and checked the time. He still had some time to go before Leo would return from work- he at least could start shading despite not being able to finish it in one go.

 

The piece of white paper he had grabbed soon was covered in blue colour swatches. Lia pointed out the ones she liked, and while not necessary considering her opinion as valid, Guang Hong bothered to look at a few of her suggestions. She had a particular eye for this, as a lot of the idea of colour-matching and shading was quite on point. So it seemed that Lia would be chasing after Dylan while Olivia and Dani would follow in Leo’s footsteps.

 

“So, which one would work the best you think?” Guang Hong asked, holding up the two shading-pallets he liked the most.

 

Lia pulled on a thoughtful look before eventually pointing to the one on Guang Hong’s left. “I like these more,” she said grinning. “Because the flowers are a dark blue a lighter, brighter colour will bring them more to life.”

 

Agreeing with her, the blue colour he had used for a few of the flowers was a bit darker than he had wanted. But he simply could overpaint them with a brighter colour and use the dark colour as a background.

 

“That it’s settled, number six is a go.”

 

Guang Hong was glad he had yet to gather the paint he needed when the door was slammed open. A flustered and panic-looking Dani stood in the door opening. “He’s back home,” she panted, basically doubling over while catching her breath.

 

For a brief moment, Guang Hong though she meant Dylan. But Dylan was home, as it was a Saturday. Leo, however, was out, though Guang Hong hadn’t expected him back for another two hours or so.

 

“Are you serious?” Guang Hong asked, mirroring Dani’s panic with his voice. “Is Leo home?”

 

The girl nodded. “Yes,” she wheezed. “Olivia is distracting him for now, you have five minutes, ten tops if Olivia is doing her job well.”

 

Five minutes wasn’t much to hide all the evidence that Guang Hong had been working on something. He shared a brief look with Lia before the two parted ways, trying to get the room cleaned in a record time.

 

Grabbing the paint, Guang Hong hurriedly stuffed them in the bag, at least, he tried to. But checking if the head was screwed on correctly was important, important enough to waste time on it. Lia was gathering all the colour samples and testing papers and stuffed them in a worn binder Guang Hong used to save sketches and colour-test in. When she finally was recovered, Dani offered them a hand, taking the used paintbrushes and ducking into the bathroom, cleaning them.

 

Hauling up the bag with paint, Guang Hong opened a drawer and dumped the bag inside. Lia followed and shoved the binder inside. Pushing the drawer closer, there was one piece of glaring evidence left. The painting.

 

“You carry the painting, I the Isle,” Guang Hong suggested, carefully picking up the painting and handing it to Lia. “Be careful, some of it is still wet.”

 

Lia, thankfully, was wearing an already ruined shirt, so if some paint landed on it, it wasn’t the end of the world. The only thing that would suck was if the paint smudged on the painting itself. Folding the isle with practised ease, Guang Hong followed the girl out of the hobby room, heading up the stairs to the attic. Once upstairs, Guang Hong opened the empty linen closest, unfolded the isle, put the stand inside and took over the painting from Lia. Securing the artwork on the Isle, Guang Hong closed the door and locked it, stuffing the key in his pants. This most definitely were more than five minutes, but maybe Olivia had done better than either he or Lia had expected.

 

Sneaking down the stairs, Guang Hong carefully looked around, seeing if Leo was somewhere in sight. It seemed that he wasn’t, or maybe he was in the guest room, dropping off his stuff.

 

“He’s downstairs,” Olivia said, appearing out of nowhere. “He won’t be coming up for another few minutes, so you’re safe, except for...” the teen beckoned Guang Hong to fully ascend the stairs. “This is a foolish habit you know if you want to paint in secrecy.”

 

With ease, Olivia plucked a paintbrush from behind Guang Hong’s ear. “There you go, clean this, switch out of your shirts, and the two of you’ll never be suspected.”

 

Thanking the eldest sister, Guang Hong slipped into the bathroom. Dani was still cleaning the brushes, a determined look on her face.

 

“I’ll wrap it up,” Guang Hong mentioned, patting Dani’s head appreciatively. “Thank you.”

 

The girl looked up and beamed at him. “No problem!” she chimed. “Anything from my future brother-in-law.”

 

He was never getting used to being called brother-in-law. The idea of marrying Leo seemed so far away, yet it wasn’t an unlikely thought. If their relationship kept up like this, they might as well marry in the future. There aren’t many soulmates, if none at all, that fell out of love. In love was a different matter, but the love rarely fell out of love with their significant other.

 

Dani pulled Lia along, and Guang Hong was on his own in the bathroom, a certain quietness surrounding him. He might as well finish up the cleaning, as sooner or later, Leo would seek him out. Though, on the other hand, he surely could sell off that he had been painting some stuff and, if he were lucky, Leo wouldn’t ask much more after that.

 

~*~

 

Guang Hong was woken up by a lot of screaming, happy screaming, but screaming nonetheless. Panic kicking in immediately, he bolted upright, smashing his feet into the bed and snatching up his blanket, covering up his chest. It had been too warm to wear much to bed, at all, and with Leo around, he didn’t felt ashamed to walk around bare chested. However, there was also a thing called little kids- little innocent kids.

 

“Happy birthday!” Dani screamed, making an impressive leap and jumped over  Guang Hong’s air mattress and throwing herself on an equally startled looking Leo.

 

Taking a moment to recover from the sudden awakening, Guang Hong looked around the guest room with bleary eyes. It probably was at the crack of dawn, probably around five in the morning. The entire family had fitted themselves in the small room, which, in Guang Hong’s opinion, was quite a feat as the room was barely large enough to fit two beds inside, not to mention eight people total.

 

“Scoot over,” Olivia grunted, nudging Guang Hong’s leg. For a moment, Guang Hong had barely recognised her. She looked as tired as he felt, with her hair curly naturally instead of being straightened, not a lick of make-up on her face. He never had caught her without make-up in the past two months-or-so he had been at the Iglesia’s.

 

Doing as the eldest sister asked, Guang Hong hugged his knees to his chest, wrapping the blanket tightly around himself. Yawning, Olivia plopped down. She was, like the rest, heavily underdressed, wearing nothing more than barely-there shorts and a tank-top. “What’s wrong, scared that people see your boobs,” she teased, jabbing his chest softly.

 

“I’m a guy,” Guang Hong answered blandly, hoping that someone who save him from Olivia’s piercing gaze. Leo’s dad thankfully came to his rescue, sort of.

 

“Okay Dani, that’s enough, give Leo some space,” the girl hadn’t moved an inch ever since she had launched herself onto Leo’s bed. “Olivia, don’t torment our guest. Everyone, get a seat and let’s get the celebration on the road.”

 

Right, it was Leo’s birthday, and considering that Leo had insisted that they should sleep in separate beds, Guang Hong had a hunch that Leo had expected this. It probably was a family tradition, a sweet but very weird one. He definitely wouldn’t be happy to be woken up at the crack of dawn to celebrate his birthday.

 

It was a bustle in the bedroom. Lia and Leo’s mother had disappeared for a brief moment before returning with a stack of presents. Guang Hong spotted Lia carrying his painting with her, neatly wrapped with a ribbon and all. There were plenty of other gifts, some smaller, some bigger. It seemed every single family member had gotten Leo a present, which, in retrospect, appeared to be very normal. It was just that Guang Hong wasn’t used to a big birthday celebration due to his own, small and quiet family.

 

“Me first!” Dani shouted excited, trusting her gift in Leo’s hands.

 

The presents kept on flowing, some more useful than others. Lia and Dani’s gifts were obviously picked by their parents, a small, cute-ish drawing making it more personal. Other gifts had been more practical, like some more expensive clothes or stuff for Leo’s guitar. It was overall very sweet, though it made Guang Hong all the more nervous. What if his gift was a disappointment? Leo wasn’t much of an artist kind-of-type, at least drawing-wise. Guang Hong knew that his boyfriend tagged along because he enjoyed drawing, not because Leo liked it.

 

“I got you what you wanted,” Olivia said gleefully and tossed a round object in Leo’s lap. “Be careful with it though, it stains, but not permanently.”

 

Eyeing the gift with curiosity, Leo unpacked it slowly. It looked like a bath bomb, though as Leo moved it slightly, Guang Hong saw the walls deforming. A paint bomb. Oh, he had seen these kind of things on the internet- easy to wash off, often in bright colours and foremost, not soulmate-proof.

 

Oh, Leo was going to out them to his family- finally. Well, it could be a lot worse, for example, if Leo’s parents found out by accident, like pretty much each of Leo’s sibling. Or Guang Hong had been the one with paint stuck in his hair.

 

“Don’t you dare,” he hissed, glaring at his boyfriend. Leo blinked innocently, but Guang Hong knew better than that. He had saved himself from several showering-sessions and maybe even temporarily dyed hair.

 

Despite being obviously caught, Leo still seemed hesitant. The air in the room had become nervous, Leo’s parents sharing a confused look, seemingly unsure what was going on. Dylan looked done, but still stuck around, Lia and Dani were excited and almost, Guang Hong imagines either of the girls reaching out for the paint bomb and destroying it themselves, probably getting paint everywhere. It was Olivia, however, who saved the day.

 

“Give that thing here,” the teen hissed, snatching the bomb out of Leo’s loose grip. “Coward,” and with a loud snap, the bomb snapped once it collided with Leo’s head.

 

Holding up his hands out of reflex, Guang Hong shielded himself of the few splashes of paint that spat around the room. But along the way, his blanket had slid off his shoulders, exposing his chest. This wouldn’t have been bad if it wasn’t for Leo to be covered in paint from the waist up. Hair, face, _chest_.

 

“Olivia,” Leo’s mum scolded. “You don’t do that to people- even if it’s your own brother. It will be a pain to-”

 

Guang Hong had a fair guess what had rendered Leo’s mother quiet. Looking down, his own chest was covered with purple, only a few patched normal looking skin left. His face probably was purple too. Why Leo had chosen for purple was beyond him, something like yellow or pink wouldn’t look that... awkward.

 

“Leo, explain, please?” Leo’s dad asked, voice surprisingly stable for a parent who just found out that his son and his son’s friend were soulmates- and probably dating, _and_ making out in a small, one-person bed?

 

Leo didn’t look exactly intimated by his dad, or actually, he looked perfectly comfortable, grinning silly as he pushed his paint-stained hair out of his face. “Well, you see, I might have forgotten to mention that my soulmate was a guy,” Dylan immediately protested, but Olivia hushed him. Guang Hong was sure she was having the time of her life.

 

“So, I was a bit nervous to introduce Guang Hong to you like that, so I waited and well,” Leo shrugged. “It didn’t felt necessary to tell. We’re still developing our relationship, and neither of us wanted to have anyone meddling with it. That was till everyone seemed to catch us being cuddly with each other one way or another.”

 

This time, Dylan managed to dodge Olivia’s well-attempted hushing. “You weren’t exactly... discreet.”

 

“For once in my life, I agree with Dylan,” Olivia added, grinning. “I had my suspicions, as you don’t act the same around Guang Hong as you do around your other friends, like Phichit and Yuuri. It was more... personal, the small touches, the flirty conversations.”

 

Grinning, Dani piped in. “Oh, are we talking about how we all discovered?” she questioned, eyes alive with joy. “I caught them sucking face, it was gross,” she added helpfully. “But also kind of sweet- I don’t mind Ji as my brother.”

 

Lia, however, looked as stunned as Leo’s parents. “Wait,” she said slowly, her gaze shifting from Leo to Guang Hong. “Seung isn’t your soulmate?”

 

Guang Hong blinked, surprised the girl still was hung up on that. “No- he’s my roommate, he already had met his soulmate before I even met him,” he explained.

 

“Who?” Lia asked curiously, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

 

Did Lia even know Phichit? With a slightly worried expression, Guang Hong sought out Leo’s gaze. His boyfriend nodded, giving him the go-ahead. “Remember Phichit?”

 

The girl slowly nodded. “Yes, Phich? What has he to do with it?”

 

Throwing the girl a pointed look, Guang Hong watched as Lia caught up with what he was implying. Suddenly, her eyes grew big, her mouth fell open, and a look of pure and utter disbelief painted her features. She was rendered speechless, which was a good thing for the current situation, as Leo’s parents started to get slightly impatient.

 

“So, for how long do you know?” Leo’s mum asked curiously.

 

“Since late January,” Leo answered almost immediately, apparently expecting the question. “Knew him for longer, but we never...”

 

“Realised that the other was the one we were looking for,” Guang Hong added, feeling his face growing red- or at least warm.

 

To his surprise, it was Leo’s dad who made a cooing noise, causing Leo’s mum to roll her eyes. “They’re just like us,” the man chimed, nudging his wife’s side. “Keeping the relationship all hush-hush and- ow, that hurts,” the man wailed after getting pinched by his wife.

 

“You’re acting childish,” she scolded. “But I guess gratulations are in due- now I have to put my hopes into Dylan for a child.”

 

The teen in question grew white in the face, looking ready to bolt. “Mum,” he hissed, not so gently jabbing a laughing Olivia. “My soulmate doesn’t talk to me, remember? I’m pretty much soulmates-less.”

 

“That makes things easier,” Leo’s mum pointed out. “Leo, didn’t you had a roommate that doesn’t have a soulmate?”

 

Leo chuckled and shook his head. “You’re a bit late to the party, mamá, he already found someone,” immediately, a more nervous smile graced his features. “You aren’t mad?”

 

“Why would I be?” she answered. “You find your soulmate and apparently, that guy is crazy enough to put up with you. Though I definitely want to know more, right now I’m back to bed.”

 

In cue, the rest of the family followed. Leo’s dad flashed them a toothy smile and two thumbs-up, Dani announced that Guang Hong was now her favourite brother, Lia was murmuring under her breath that ‘Phich and Seung would make beautiful babies’ and Dylan offered them a soft smile before exiting the room. Only Olivia seemed to hang around longer, a teasing grin on her face.

 

“You have forgotten your present,” Olivia pointed out, not so gently nudging his leg. “Thank me later- and you might need this.”

 

Two items were dropped in his lap. He regretted looking down. He most definitly resembled a firetruck the moment he saw a condom and lube laying innocently in his lap. “Save sex is important, kiddos.”

 

Olivia almost glided out of the room. Guang Hong could imagen her cackling like a witch, the only that was missing was the hat, black cat and a broomstick.

 

Leo climbed off his bed, settling down next to Guang Hong. The paint had pretty much dried, which Guang Hong was grateful for. He no longer had to fear getting covered with real paint- the reflection on his skin was already bad enough.

 

“So, are these also part of your present or?” cheekily, Leo picked up the bottle of lube, inspecting it. “Waterbased, not bad,” he mused, throwing it back into Guang Hong’s lap.

 

Rolling his eyes, Guang Hong crossed his arms, throwing his boyfriend a glare. “What do you think yourself?”

 

“I think Olivia is just messing with you,” his boyfriend answered honestly.

 

A surprisingly shy looked followed, and Leo fidgetted on the spot. “Are you mad at me for outing us like that,” he asked. “I mean, you said you were okay with telling my parents, so I doubted that you would much but.”

 

“Honestly, I rather had you telling them flat out,” Guang Hong admitted, rubbing his purple-looking arm. “But I guess this will work out too- I mean, this way you get the entire family together, which is quite a feat.”

 

“Great, joy. I was so scared you would be mad,” Leo admitted.

 

“Getting mad at you is hard, you know,” Guang Hong pointed out. “But, um, happy birthday, I guess, and,” inhaling sharply, Guang Hong grabbed the neatly wrapped painting. “Your present. It’s stupid, but Olivia recommended me doing just whatever felt right, so...”

 

Leo just smiled and unwrapped it carefully. Guang Hong assumed Leo already knew what it was, it was just a matter of whenever he liked it or not.

 

“The note first,” Guang Hong pointed out, pointing out the note that was carefully stuck to the side of the painting. “It- it explains the picture.”

 

“When we decided to move the furniture so we could dance- baby like we stood a chance,” Leo read outside, eyebrows drawn together. “You took a Polaroid of us, then discovered...”

 

Leo dropped the note and picked up the painting. Guang Hong couldn’t read Leo, his expression was... odd, vague. There was a certain softness to it- a softness Guang Hong wasn’t used to.

 

“That the rest of the world is in Black and White,” Leo sang slowly, pushed the paper of the painting. “But we were in screaming colour.”

 

The edges of the painting were in black and white and gradually, going to the centre, colours started to grow brighter. In the middle sat two people in bright green grass, surrounded by sprouting and blooming spring flowers. A vast cityscape stretched out on the horizon, the sun setting. It was a combination of Guang Hong’s art project and their first-date trespassing-adventure to catch the setting sun lighting up their village.

 

“It took some liberties,” Guang Hong admitted, scratching his neck nervously. “For example, there surely weren’t that many flowers back then, and the proportions might not all be right but-”

 

“This was our first date, wasn’t it?” Leo questioned quietly, fingers hesitantly touching the canvas.

 

Guang Hong nodded. “Yes, it’s a bit cheesy, but when I hear that stupid song, it was all that I could think about and I just- you can say if you don’t like it.”

 

“Admittedly, I love everything you create,” Leo murmured, carefully propping the painting against the wall. “But this is absolutely perfect. You even bothered to add in song lyrics from _Taylor Swift_ of all people- how much more pop can you go?”

 

“I’m willing to go as far as listen to the radio if that makes you happy,” Guang Hong admitted, scooting closer to Leo. Now he desperately hoped that nobody would bother them.

 

“You don’t have to,” Leo murmured as paint-clad fingers along his jaw. “You’re making me happy by just being you.”

 

Guang Hong groaned. “That’s so gross,” he muttered, but he didn’t bother to ruin the moment- lean back and tease Leo merciless. “But hey, if you’re happy with me being me, I guess I’m happy with you being you.”

 

“That’s all I wanted to hear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who got a night free to write? I hope that the editing isn't too poor, as I'm pretty much dead while editing this...  
> Chapter 10 will be up tomorrow, wrapping up the story, finally. (It's been dragging on for a bit too long in my opinion.) Don't worry, next chapter we're back with the better music collection.
> 
>  **Chapter Title:** Out of the Woods - Taylor Swift


	10. Don't you Forget about Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, it's finally over. I decided to go crazy with the short chapter. (The idea isn't originally mine- I recall once coming across it in a fanfic, but I can't seem to find it anymore, it has been so long though...)
> 
> Enjoy, also, recommendation, maybe, play this [Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A) along- it's also the song used in the credits.

_*Credits start rolling, the music starts and the first picture fades in on the phone screen*_

_Won’t you come see about me?_

_I’ll be alone, dancing you know it baby_

_Tell me your troubles and doubts_

_Giving me everything inside and out and_

 

A picture of Seung-gil, Phichit, a girl and a large dog. Seung-gil was leaning against Phichit, their fingers intertwined. Phichit, in turn, was snuggling into the Husky’s fur, Seung-gil’s hand tucked underneath his chin. On Phichit’s other side was a girl who was a split-image of Seung-gil, only a few years younger. She was gripping Phichit’s shirt tightly, a content smile on her face. Underneath the picture was a single line of text and a few hashtags.

_It seems that my family in law already likes me._

#SouthKorea, #MeetingFamilyInLaw, #Soulmates #ProudBoyfriend

 

_Love’s strange so real in the dark_

_Think of the tender things that we were working on_

_Slow change may pull us apart_

_When the light gets into your heart, baby_

 

A picture of Yuuri and a silver-haired man. The man is tagged as Victor Nikiforov. The landscape of Moscow was behind them, but that is blurred out. Victor had looped his arm around Yuuri’s shoulders, pressing him impossibly close. Yuuri, in turn, was smiling brightly. Both had pulled a silly face, Victor going as far as pouting his lips into a duckface. Underneath the picture was a short description and two hashtags.

_I can’t believe how blessed I’m to meet @VictorNikiforov. Russia is great, though he’s probably the greatest about it all, expect from maybe Makkachin._

#Russia, #FoundHim

 

_Don’t you forget about me_

_Don’t don’t don’t don’t_

_Don’t you forget about me_

 

A picture of Emil and Michele with bad lighting. Michele looks cocky, standing on one of the sides of the makeshift table tennis table. His face is flustered, and a large grin graces his features. Emil stands on the other side of the table, staring crossed-eyed at a table tennis ball. His shirt drenched with liquid and alcohol is slathered all over his part of the table. Underneath the picture was a short description and a whole slew of hashtags.

_@MicheleCrispino and @EmilNekola are lightweights._

#Party, #Drinking, #BeerPong, #BabysittingMyBrother, #TheyAreInLove, #Gross, #Love, #CollegeLife, #Summer

 

_Will you stand above me?_

_Look my way, never love me_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down_

 

A picture of Emil curled up on a couch fast asleep. Small bodies of his cousins and siblings, who all are asleep, surround Emil. A finger blurred the corner of the picture. Underneath the picture was a small description and no hashtags.

_I’m in love_

 

_Will you recognise me?_

_Call my name or walk on by_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down, down_

 

A picture of Mila and Sara standing in the glaring sun. Both girls were dressed in a bathing suit, an oversized sweater clinging Mila’s small figure. Mila’s cheeks were decorated with white stripes of sunburn, just like the tip of her nose. Sara has a towel wrapped around her waist, the colour matching Mila’s bikini. Cat whiskers were drawn with sunburn on her cheeks, the tip of her nose was also white. A short description followed by a few hashtag.

_Spending the summer with the best person in the world._

#Beach, #Summer, #SaraIsABabe

 

_Hey, hey, hey, hey_

_Ohhhh..._

_Don’t you try to pretend_

_It’s my feeling we’ll win in the end_

_I won’t harm you or touch your defences_

_Vanity and security_

 

A picture of Leo and Guang Hong sitting on a bench in a garden. The sun is setting casting shadows over the garden. Both of them are holding hands, leaning into each other’s touch. A short description is written underneath the photo, a few comments and no hashtags.

_We can’t believe how fortunate we’re seeing our first child finding love with someone else._

_@OliviaIglesia: Mum, that’s so gross. Not everyone wants to know about this._

_@DylanIgelsia: @OliviaIglesia you’re just jealous that you haven’t found your soulmate yet._

_@OliviaIglesia: @DylanIgelsia you haven’t either, prick!_

_@DylanIgelsia: @OliviaIglesia but I don’t care. I, at least, am happy for my brother._

_@DanielaIglesia: I’m also happy! Ji would probably make a better sibling than you would @OliviaIglesia!_

_@NataliaIglesia: why can’t say anybody that the picture is cute? Because it’s adorable!_

 

_Don’t you forget about me_

_I’ll be alone, dancing you know it baby_

_Going to take you apart_

_I’ll put us back together at heart, baby_

 

_*The music fades out, the screen enlarges until the entire picture takes up the screen. The camera zooms in, and the scene starts to play*_

 

“Hey Leo,” Guang Hong mumbled, leaning closer to his boyfriend. “Is it weird that I don’t want to go back to college?”

 

Leo snorted, tightening his grip on their intertwined fingers. “Well, we’ll see each other nearly every day even at school if that’s what’s you’re implying.”

 

“But I’m going to miss sleeping with you,” Guang Hong admitted.

 

“I think it wouldn’t be that bad,” Leo admitted. “We’re still young, we just should finish college, fall further in love and then move in together. Or do you want to ditch Seung-gil for me?”

 

No, he wouldn’t. Seung-gil had four different roommates in the span of three years, Guang Hong being the only one who lasted for an entire school year. He wasn’t going to ditch his friend for the selfish reason to share a bed with his boyfriend.

 

“Nah, I guess I’ll stick with him for now.”

 

Leaning in for a kiss, their noses bumped briefly which caused Leo to chuckle. “Would you believe me that this has been the best summer I ever had?” Leo whispered, lips inches away from one another.

 

“Well, it’s definitely my favourite summer, so either I have low expectations or...” leaning in further, their lips brushed against one another.

 

“Fuck,” Leo cursed, inhaling sharply. “Why’re you so perfect?”

 

Snorting softly, Guang Hong pressed his forehead against Leo’s. “I’m thinking the same thing every day.”

 

Of course, one of Leo’s siblings had to ruin the moment. However, admittedly, that was the risk of cuddling in semi-public. “Guys! Stop being gross!” Olivia yelled.

 

Grinning, Guang Hong leant in for a kiss, just to annoy Olivia. It seemed Leo had the same idea, only he went to an entirely different level to annoying his sister.

 

Gently, Guang Hong felt himself being pushed down until his back laid flat on the surface of the bench. How Leo had managed to keep the kiss going was beyond him, but hey, he wasn’t complaining. They didn’t make out that often, both because they never felt the need to and they lived with other people in the same house. People who weren’t adults, important to note.

 

“Leo, what-” Guang Hong gasped when Leo pushed his tongue past his lips. Okay, they were definitely making out.

 

“Leo, for fuck sake, don’t bone in the garden!” Olivia screeched, sounding mortified.

 

In a right mind, Guang Hong would’ve stopped Leo, whispering something along the lines of ‘this is not appropriate’. However, it was a bit hard to think like that when a tongue was shoved down his throat.

 

“That’s it!” Olivia screeched. “I’m getting mum!”

 

After a few seconds, they parted ways, both breathing harshly. “Fuck, that’s addicting,” Leo mumbled, pressing his face into Guang Hong’s shoulder.

 

“No shit,” Guang Hong whispered, struggling to catch his breath. “Are you going to do that every time one of your siblings annoys you?”

 

“Nah, just Olivia,” Leo answered cheekily, as far as that was possible between the shallow breathing.

 

“You’re absolutely unbelievable,” Guang Hong mumbled. “And here I wanted to say that I love you.”

 

“Says the dork that gave me a painting for my birthday,” Leo retorted. “But, I have to be childish and parrot you.”

 

Leo shifted around and was now hovering over him, hands placed on either side of Guang Hong’s head. “I love you.”

 

“Mum, look! I told you they were doing the nasty!” there was one thing Guang Hong wasn’t going to miss about his time at Leo’s place, and that was Olivia. On her good days, she was okay, but on her bad days, she was downright terrible.

 

“Remind me if she ever gets a boyfriend that I have to pester her the rest of her life?” Guang Hong whispered, stealing a quick kiss from Leo’s lips.

 

“I’ll do,” Leo whispered back, going in for a long, lingering kiss. “We’re going to make her life hell next summer.”

 

Humming approvingly, Guang Hong gently held Leo’s face. “I like the sound of that,” he admitted. “Next summer.”

 

_*The screen fades out and the rest of the credits start to roll. The music picks up again, playing its last piece.*_

 

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_When you walk away_

_Oh_ _will you walk away?_

_Will you walk on by?_

_Come on, call my name_

_Will you call my name?_

**_* The End *_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me for this long. I still question whenever it was the right thing or not to continue this for so long instead of stopping at chapter six, the final. Anyway, once again, thank you so much for the support, I still can't believe it, this is probably my most successful work up to date, and it had been a blast to write.
> 
> Next week I'll start another multi-chapter story you can look out for! (Not a continuation of this.) Because I'm evil, I'll give you a hint. Imagining EmiMike with this [ song ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdbRD4qALjA) with a twist.
> 
> Chapter Song: Don't you (forget about me) - Simple Minds

**Author's Note:**

> The goal had been to write short snippets of their growing romance... welp that's thrown out of the window. Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Also, constructive criticism is appreciated!


End file.
